


Regaining Glory

by MightyMage, Wolfie_ROOD



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Running Away, ex-champion!Gloria
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25367695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MightyMage/pseuds/MightyMage, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfie_ROOD/pseuds/Wolfie_ROOD
Summary: After nearly getting her best friend killed, Gloria goes into hiding for years to avoid the media fire storm, renouncing her title of champion and giving up everything she loved. Catching wind of her disappearance, a lovesick Leon spends every waking moment searching for the girl who does not want to be found. When Leon finally finds Gloria's hiding place, she's a shell of who she once was. What will happen when the two are finally reunited? Will he be able to rekindle the fiery passion she once held, or is Gloria unfixable?
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Yuuri | Gloria, Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers, Steven Stone/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 49
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn't supposed to go like this.

She was the Champion, she should have been able to protect him. A champion is supposed to help people; not get them killed. But as she raced to get help, arms tightly wrapped around him to hold him on the back of her Charizard, Gloria could see it in his eyes. Hop was dying, and it was her fault. They weren't going fast enough, there was so much _blood_ …

Gloria sat there in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs with nothing but a hollow and empty expression. Desperately awaiting news on the fate of her best friend in surgery, she held her head in her hands. Her leg bounced on the ball of her foot anxiously; a nervous tic she didn’t even know she had until today. Glancing up every few seconds; Gloria didn’t know how much longer she could just _sit there_ until she drove herself mad. It was agonizing, to say the least. And with the waiting room so silent, all the poor girl could hear were the angry thoughts storming around in her head. She was a failure; a fool; an idiot who was way in over her head. She couldn’t be the champion; why the hell did she ever think she was capable in the first place? Because she beat the previous champion? Please, give me a break. Gloria didn’t know the first thing about actually being someone who was basically a public superhero. She-

“Miss?” Glancing up, Gloria saw the surgeon who still wore the back of his surgical gown almost like a cape. This man was more of a hero than she’d ever be. The girl leaped from her seat and stared expectantly at him with her big tearful eyes. “It was touch and go for a while, and I wouldn’t say we’re completely out of the woods. But he’s stable, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on him until there’s nothing to worry about."

Her whole body shook. “Really…?” She whispered.

The doctor nodded with a small smile. “Yes. He’s still unconscious, but you could go see him if you’d like.” Learning that he was going to be okay sent relief coursing through her veins. Instead of going to see Hop, though, she excused herself to the bathroom and locked herself inside for who knows how long. Gloria vomited until her stomach stopped doing backflips in her body. And once she wasn’t feeling nauseated anymore, the champion collapsed to the ground and sobbed for a while. Whether they were tears of relief or guilt, she wasn’t sure. 

After a moment of uncontrolled bawling, Gloria collected herself and left the hospital swiftly and silently. There was no possible way she could stand to face Hop after nearly killing him. When the boy woke up, her face shouldn’t be the first one he sees. 

Upon learning about what happened - really didn't take them long - the media latched onto what happened, eager to paint Gloria as a horrible Champion. She had put Rose behind bars, and dethroned the Galar region's beloved Champion - she already wasn't well-liked by the media. Gloria couldn’t blame them for disliking her, and it wasn’t usually something that bothered her. She just wished she was given a moment - just a _week_ \- to process what happened. She was hoping this would stay under wraps long enough for her to finish having her feelings and maybe visit Hop. But no; it didn’t even take reporters a day to find out and start camping outside her house; the hospital - wherever they thought she would be, cameras and microphones were there waiting for their incompetent champion impatiently. 

To her credit, she tried to handle it the best she could. Those reporters were like vultures, though, and Leon was being anything but helpful. He spent day and night at his brother’s side, completely avoiding the outside world in favor of caring for Hop. He avoided the reporters by simply never leaving, which left Gloria to fend for herself. Leon had no idea, either. He’d thrown himself so fully into caring for his little brother, that he forgot about everything else in his life until Hop was better.

The metaphorical shit storm rained down upon poor Gloria until she was at her breaking point. 

A knock at the door caught Raihan’s attention. He’d been dozing on the couch beside Piers who was already asleep when he’d heard someone at his front door. With a yawn and a stretch of his limbs, he stood up and went to greet whoever it was. Much to his surprise, it was the champion herself. “Gloria? It’s the middle of the night; are you okay?” Raihan asked with concern, stepping aside to let her in. It was pouring outside, and the girl was only wearing a tank top and shorts. “You’re gonna freeze like that, hang on.”

While the dragon type quickly walked off to find a towel for Gloria, the champion in question just sort of stood in the entranceway in a daze. The last few days have been a blur. The girl couldn’t quite remember how she got to Raihan’s house, but she supposed it didn’t matter. 

“Here, come inside.” Rai came back over and covered her in a warm, fluffy towel, pulling her further into the large house. “I saw what’s been going on; it’s all over the news. Damn reporters, they’re the worst. How are you holding up?”

Glancing up at the gym leader, Gloria gave him a thousand-yard stare. “I’m not the champion anymore.”

Raihan did a complete double-take. “Wait, what? They took your title??” He exclaimed frantically. “Surely that wasn’t Lee’s idea. We’ll talk to him and see what we can do, okay? Don’t even worry about it.”

“N-No... No, I renounced it myself. I don’t want it anymore.” She mumbled. “Leon can be champion; I don’t want to.”

A lot was being thrown at him at once, and it was getting hard to process it. “Okay, hang on. What does Leon think of this?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care.” She replied monotonously. “I gave an official letter to Oleana and left. Can I… stay here for a while?”

Raihan frowned and pulled the girl into a hug, much to Gloria’s surprise. No, this wasn’t Gloria. She’d never say how little she cared about someone else’s opinion. She adored Leon, how could she say she didn’t care? There was no light in her eyes, no bounce in her step. This has affected her horribly; that much was clear. “... Of course you can. Let me just kick Piers off the couch and get it set up.” With a sigh, Raihan pulled away and went over to the sofa; lightly shaking his friend awake. “Hey, sleepyhead. Move this upstairs; we’ll share the bed.”

“Hnggghh… fuck’s goin’ on?” Piers muttered incoherently while sitting up. Catching sight of the small, sopping wet girl, he immediately woke up. “Glo, hey. Ya look a right mess; ya doin’ okay?” He asked; his voice was deep and sounded bored like normal, but it was clear he was concerned. 

She nodded almost robotically. “I’m fine. Just gonna stay here for a while.” Gloria sat on the couch and stared down at her feet.

Raihan was quick to speak up. No way in hell was she about to try and suggest any of this was fine. “The media has been bashing her left and right, and she gave her title back to Leon. She’s not okay.” 

“Yeah, _fuck_ that. Anythin’ ya want me t’do, kid?” Piers scooted over and tried to get her attention. “I’ll raise hell if ya want. I’ve punched journalists before, y’know.” 

She kept staring at her feet in silence, barely registering either of their voices. It was like her body was present but her mind was on another planet. Gloria was not okay. 

“... Are you hungry, Glo?” Raihan asked.

Still nothing. 

Finally, she perked up and looked at Piers. “Make me disappear.”

Piers furrowed his brow in confusion, as did Raihan. What the hell was she talking about? “What? What d’ya mean; what about everyone else?”

“Get rid of Gloria, she doesn’t exist anymore. Let me be someone else.” The girl bit her lip, and for the first time since she got there, she actually looked like herself. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else. And if I don’t technically exist, I won’t be able to... Please…?”

Raihan was just watching with concerned eyes; his mouth gaping open and closed, trying to find the words. This was ridiculous, right? Was Gloria really trying to just fall off the face of the earth? “You need to slow down. Do you hear what you’re saying? You’re really about to just leave everything else behind, and you’re okay with that?”

“No.” It was a simple response. Of course she wasn’t okay with it. “But it’s my decision. I’ve already made up my mind, I just need a bit of help doing it.” With a desperate glance, Gloria looked over at Piers; her big eyes pleading with him. Of course, puppy dog eyes didn’t work on the hardened man anymore, but she could still try. “I just need a new ID, and I’ll figure the rest out on my own.”

Piers sighed and stared at her in silence for a moment; looking in her eyes for any sort of doubt or hesitation. There was none, and he knew there was nothing he could do to change her mind. What a stubborn girl… “Okay. But you’re not doin’ anythin’ on your own, ya hear me?” Gloria immediately opened her mouth to argue, but Piers was having none of her shit. “Don’t even try it; if you’re makin’ a change like this, then there is no damn way I’m lettin’ ya do it all by yourself.”

With a defeated huff, she nodded. “Okay.”

Rai bit the inside of his cheek and tapped his foot, mildly irritated. “Piers, a word.” The dark type trainer got up and followed Raihan into the hall, leaving the girl devoid of emotions on the couch. “What the hell...?” He whisper-yelled.

“What’re ya on about?” Piers asked, crossing his arms defensively. “She asked for help, an’ I’m givin’ it to her. That a problem?”

Raihan furrowed his brow. “Are you serious? So we’re just letting her go through with this?”

“Like she said, it’s her decision. Whether it’s right or wrong, I’m gonna help her.” It was clear Piers was going to defend Gloria’s choice even if he didn’t agree with it. He knew what it felt like to want to hide from the rest of the world; Glo was just making that a reality. If it got bad, he would step in; otherwise, Piers was just going to do what he could to help her. “If ya don’t like it, that’s fine.”

Rai rubbed his face frustratingly. “And what about Leon? Hop? Hell, Marnie?” He huffed and started scratching his neck. “What do we tell them?”

“Nothin’, obviously. She can’t exactly disappear if we tell people where she is.” He argued quietly. His voice was calm, but Piers was getting annoyed. 

“So we just lie to them?” Raihan gaped at the man.

“Yep.”

“For fuck’s sake…” At this point, Rai was pacing. “This is insanity, y’know that? This is an awful idea.”

Piers nodded in agreement. “It probably is. Gonna keep whinin’ ‘bout it or are ya gonna help?”  
  
“Do I have a choice…?”  
  
With a _lot_ of hesitance from Raihan, he and Piers worked together to make Gloria’s wish come true. She vanished into thin air just like she wanted, and the two men were sworn to secrecy. With a new identity came a new name, appearance, and home. Gloria chopped off and dyed her once long hair. She moved into a small flat in Hammerlocke. She did everything in her power to get rid of any trace of her former self. As far as the ex-champion was concerned, Gloria no longer existed. 

She got a job at a clothing boutique, and it was there she tolled her life away. She gave up everything to hide from her mistake. Her career, her friends, battling… the person she adored and admired. Maybe it seemed a bit dramatic, but how could she face _anyone_ after what happened? Gloria was the region’s Champion, and she should have been able to protect Hop without any issue. She failed in the one thing she was supposed to do: protect people. Gloria didn't deserve the title any longer; she wasn't worthy.

It had been years since anyone had seen Gloria. The media played the story for a few months, but it was clear they didn’t particularly care about her now that she wasn’t the champion. The spotlight was always on Leon after that; it was like she was never anyone important. Just according to plan. 

\---

The overcast above Hammerlocke was thick, dark clouds passing above the city. Humidity was in the air, but it didn’t bother Gloria one bit. She liked the rain; grew accustomed to the dull atmosphere. And when it poured, she enjoyed walking home in the rain. The girl always got scolded for the next day when she was homesick, but it was worth it in her eyes. The cold water against her skin was just too much to pass up. 

“Anya.” She perked up at the sound of her ‘name’. Right, after ‘Gloria’ disappeared, she changed her name to Anya Greene. She cut her long hair and dyed it black with a dark green streak in her bangs. Her skin was paler now that she didn’t go outside and get as much sun as before. Gloria was now dead, as far as she was concerned. 

She glanced over at the woman calling her name and nodded. “Yes?”

Her boss nodded over to the other side of the store. “Can you take care of the men’s section? The trousers are in complete disarray.”

“Of course.” With a forced grin, she nodded in understanding before walking away from the register and towards the men’s clothes. Silently, Gloria started folding the piles of pants that were a mess, content with being left alone. It was a quiet little clothing store that she worked at, so not many people bothered her; and no one recognized her. It was perfect. 

Well… that was until someone _actually_ recognized her. 

“Uh, miss?” A familiar voice caught her attention, and Gloria turned around to face the boy behind her. Her face was calm like nothing phased her, but fear pulsed through every vein in her body. Hop stood there casually holding up a jacket with a scrunched up face. “Do you have this in another color? Red is nice and all, but I’d kinda prefer-... Woah, Gloria?” Hop finally looked at the woman in front of him and got a good look at her face. “No WAY! IT’S YOU!”

“I-I…! You-! Shhh, keep it down…!” Gloria urged, panic completely taking over. “I have no idea what you’re talking about; please don’t yell in the store…!”

Completely calling her bluff, Hop stepped closer to her, forcing Gloria to stumble a bit. “You know exactly who I am, Gloria! Come on, where’ve you gone? You been hiding here this whole time?”

Frantically, she took the red jacket from Hop and began walking away. “I’ll find this in blue for you, sir…!” 

Hop was quick to follow her, not daring to leave her side for even a moment. “How do you know I want blue? Unless you’re Gloria!” Shit, busted. He ran ahead of her and stood in her way. “Would you please talk to me? How long have you been in Hammerlocke?!”

“M-My name is Anya, please leave me alone.” She stuttered anxiously; trying to find some way out of the situation. Without really knowing what else to do, she just went back to organizing the trousers in an attempt to just ignore the issue at hand. Maybe Hop would go away if she didn't give him any attention.

Obviously, it didn’t work. “Gloria, why haven’t you come to see me?” Hop wondered with sad eyes, standing beside her as she worked. “Have you spoken to anyone since you left?” She refused to even look at him. Gloria couldn’t bear to right now. “ _Why_ did you leave?”

This went on for quite some time; Hop was basically talking to a brick wall as Gloria didn’t bother to acknowledge him. This wasn’t happening. This was just a horrible nightmare. 

“Do you still like green? I never understood why you liked green. I hope you like orange now. I have an orange wristband in my bag if you want it. Since y'know, you like orange. Oh wait, you haven’t said that, have you? Well, you should like orange. Oh! Orange and blue are complementary colors! That would mean we compliment each other! Please say you like orange so this is canon.” Hop rambled on and on about the most mundane things as though everything was fine again. It clearly wasn’t, but he was trying desperately to make it so; at the very least, to get some sort of reaction from Gloria. 

“... I don’t like orange.” 

“Bzzt wrong answer! Come on, mate, you gotta give me something! How about... pink? Ew, wait, Bede likes pink.” Hop cringed jokingly before going back into thought. “What about red? That’s kind of aggressive, though. Well, you can have a bit of a temper at times… Oh, yellow is great! It’s all…happy and stuff! Oooh, and it’s complementary to purple, which Lee loves!”

When her friend mentioned Leon, she noticeably tensed up. Of course Hop would bring up his brother, but that didn’t mean Gloria didn’t feel things. She couldn’t even decide what her feelings were. There was a flutter in her chest but also a pit in her stomach. She left him - she left _all_ of them. How Hop could even stand there and ramble on about fuck-all like nothing was the matter, she didn’t know. 

“Purple is a really good color! It represents royalty or something; that works well for Lee since he’s-”

Gloria couldn't stand listening to his babbling anymore. Slamming her hands on the display table, she turned and glared at him with tears in her eyes. "Hop, _enough_! Please wait outside, I'm working! I-I’ll talk to you when I’m done!" She lashed out at him when her patience finally wore out. Gloria didn’t mean to get so mad, but the moment Leon’s name was mentioned, she snapped. It was all too much for her. She had managed to stay hidden for years. _Years!_ That is, until Hop walked into her boutique, ruining it all in a moment.

She worked in a daze like a petite robot in the shape of a broken person. Though, that wasn’t much different from how she usually functioned. But now she had to worry about her best friend telling the whole world where she was. How fun.

Once her shift was finally over, Gloria didn’t leave out the front door. She only lied to Hop so he would go away. Instead, she dashed out the back; sprinting all the way to her apartment without a break. Even once she was safe at home, she couldn’t stop shaking. All she could do was call Raihan in tears over the ordeal, hiding under the covers like a scared child. 

She didn't feel safe anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

It was partly cloudy above the city of Hammerlocke, so it was a good balance between sun and shade. The sky was beginning to turn a serene variety of pinks and oranges as the day ended. Gloria enjoyed this moment before the night took hold of the world and would sometimes watch the sunset from her bedroom once she got home. 

But today she was tired; rubbing her face as she left the small clothing store. Adjusting her bag, Gloria walked down the street on her way back to the apartment she was holed up in. Her shift had just ended, and she was feeling more drained than usual. Being a cashier wasn’t nearly as exhilarating as being a champion in the eye of the public 24/7, and she almost missed it. At least Gloria wouldn’t feel as sluggish at the end of a shift… But no matter how much she wished she could go back, it was far too late for that; there was nothing she could do. 

She didn’t get further than two blocks when the sound of a familiar voice caught her attention. “Ah, excuse me, miss!” Glancing around, Gloria’s eyes finally landed on a man walking towards her. His demeanor was kind like his eyes and nervous grin. He wore a nice, professional suit with his dark hair tied back neatly. Even though he made every effort to not get recognized, Gloria still knew exactly who it was. 

Leon.

The poor woman in hiding was immediately plagued by anxiety. Her hands began to shake, so she hid them in the pockets of her jacket. Her teeth itched to grind against themselves, so she bit her lip instead. She refused to make eye contact because if she did, Gloria knew she’d break down right then and there.

“I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but it seems I’m lost… again. Uh, would you mind pointing me in the right direction?” Leon showed her the address that was written down on a little slip of paper, expecting her to glance at it.

_How typical_ , she thought affectionately while looking down at the note. _At least some things never change..._ She was glad her new look was a better disguise than Lee’s considering he hasn’t recognized her. Good, but she should still get this over with as quickly as possible. 

Reading and rereading the address a couple of times, her heart dropped. That was Gloria’s workplace; not a good sign, clearly. She pulled on the sleeves of her hoodie nervously before gesturing in the direction of the boutique down the road. “Uh, yeah. It’s just up that way. Sign outside is bright blue, you can’t miss it…” She was tempted to lie, but Gloria just didn’t have the heart to. The expectant grin on Lee’s face was too much to deny.

“Thank you very much! Have a champ- I-I mean, have a wonderful day!” Leon said, smiling politely before dashing down the street. The moment he stopped focusing on her, Gloria took off and didn’t stop sprinting until she was home. 

That was way too close, and she definitely should’ve said no or something. But it was over now, and she was safe at home. For the time being, the girl could rest easy… 

Pacing around her living room, Gloria did her best to keep calm. Hop probably ratted her out; why wouldn’t he? Lee was his brother, after all. She couldn’t say she blamed him for telling the Champion about their recent encounter. Still, that didn’t mean Gloria had to be happy about it. What the hell was she supposed to do now? Leon knew where she worked, and that was the end of it. She couldn’t exactly find a new job on such short notice, and she certainly couldn’t up and move to another city. It seemed like the girl was stuck, and that scared her. Not sure what else to do, she started texting Raihan.

**Rai Guy**

_Hey, Leon’s here. Just ran into him a bit ago thought you should know._

_Thanks for the heads up, you good?_

After she let him know about Leon, Gloria laid on the couch and hid under the blanket she usually had over the back of it. This was ridiculous, and she didn’t know what to do. She glanced at her messages every now and then, but no words came to mind when she went to respond… so she said nothing. 

_Glo?_

_Make sure you eat something at least_

_Leons here so if you were planning to come over, you probably shouldn't_

_Okay._

_You ok?_

_Gloria dont ignore me come on_

She didn’t mean to, but Gloria didn’t want to respond - didn’t know how to. It wasn’t long until she became restless again, though, and she got up to pace around some more. Her teeth grinded out of habit, and she fiddled with the zipper on her jacket. She knew grinding her teeth was a bad habit, but she couldn’t help it. Unsure of how long she was walking around her home, she gave her phone another glance only to see there were new messages from someone else. Piers. Great, just what she needed. If she didn’t respond to him, the dark type trainer would come up to Hammerlocke for sure. _No, I shouldn’t think like that… he and Rai are just trying to help._

She was logical enough to understand that Piers was only looking out for her, but Gloria didn’t want to worry anyone. And if she bothered him, he would either call her or be on the next train over; neither of which she wanted. The girl just felt like she was being a burden, so she tried to ease any worries by, y’know, _lying_.

**Father Figure**

_How are you doing today?_

_All good, you?_

_I’m about to jump on a train if you don’t start talking_

Should’ve seen that one coming… Piers was known to not play games when it came to how Gloria was feeling. At least Raihan indulged her bullshit; she couldn’t get away with anything when it came to Piers.

_He’s here. He’s at Rai’s._

_Yeah, he told me_

_I ran into him, he asked me for bloody directions._

_And you survived_

_Barely…_

_He's out just looking for you. He's gonna wear Raihan down, so what's the plan? You want to try to avoid him forever or are you going to finally confront this?_

_Not like he's given me much of a choice, he knows where I work. He'll sit outside the door and wait me out sooooo_

_Can't just go up to him like, 'Sup mate nearly got your brother killed and ruined my entire reputation, and I've been hiding like a child for who knows how long. Cheers, how've you been?'_

_You'd be surprised. It's Leon, that might just work._

It sucked because she knew Piers was right; Lee was extremely forgiving. He always seemed a bit more lenient with Gloria, though she wasn’t too sure why. But whenever she messed up, he’d grin at her and tell her not to worry about it. Leon was always sweet like that, and it only made her feel so much worse. She didn’t deserve to be forgiven for anything...

_Want me to come to Hammerlocke and help ya out?_

_You can if you're not doing anything important, but you don't HAVE to._

_When am I ever doing anything important these days?_

_Touche._

Well, so much for not bothering him. Gloria felt a pang of guilt, not necessarily feeling great about dragging Piers into her problems; this was her mess, and he shouldn’t need to come over and clean it up for her. But Piers was a stubborn man, and she doubted that anything could change his mind now that it was set. So, all Gloria could do now was wait. The train from Spikemuth to Hammerlocke was usually an hour or two, so she had time to kill. She still was unsure of how to handle the situation, but at least with Piers with her, Gloria felt a bit better. 

Hiding was her first instinct; she wanted nothing more than to hide under the blankets and wait for everything to just go away. It was unrealistic and childish, but that was how she’s been handling her problems so far. But Gloria knew better, and she needed to face the situation like an adult at some point. Things have already gotten out of hand as it is, and she’d only make it worse if she continued on like this...

As tempted as she was to continue anxiously walking back and forth, she went to her room and laid down; wrapping herself up in the comforters and closed her eyes. Might as well get a nap in before he arrived; that way, she wouldn’t be sleepwalking through… whatever they were gonna do. Gloria would figure it out with Piers after she woke up…

~~~

Piers was hanging off his bed, bored out of his mind. Now that he’d passed on the gym to Marnie, Piers didn’t have much to do during the day. During the night he could put on concerts and enjoy the music scene here in Spikemuth, but during the day? There was nothing.

That was, until Piers heard his phone go off.

**< 3 Raihan <3**

_Gloria’s been found out. Leon is here, knows where she works and is planning to wait her out. Figured I should let you know._

_Just great. Need me to head over there for help or anything?_

_I’m fine, Gloria might be freaking out, though. Haven’t heard back in a minute._

Piers groaned when he read the text. Of course Leon would find her eventually, the man was obsessed. It was only because of pure luck that they’d managed to hide Glo for so many years. He rolled over in his bed, throwing his legs up against the wall.

The sound must have alerted Marnie, because suddenly, Piers heard her voice coming from his doorway. “What’cha groanin’ about?” She asked teasingly, leaning against the doorway.

“Nothin’ important, Marn. Don’t worry about it.” Marnie was not on the shortlist of people Gloria trusted with her identity, so Piers had been keeping it a secret from her all these years. He hated lying to his own sister, but he’d agreed to do it. He was the one who jumped on board with helping Glo, which meant dealing with all the side effects that brought up, too.

Marnie narrowed her eyes slightly, disbelievingly. She marched into the room and took a seat near Piers’ head. She leaned in to try and get a look at Piers’ phone to see who he was texting, but Piers dropped the phone to his chest and held it there. “Is it _really_ nothin’?” She asked, a lilting note to her voice as she grabbed at Piers’ hands.

“What, you want to read my sexts now?” Piers teased, causing Marnie to turn a bright shade of red. Piers hated using Raihan like that, but years ago when they’d first had to start lying to Marnie, it was the first thing Piers had thought up to explain his stays in Hammerlocke. They weren’t dating, not really, but Marnie didn’t need to know that.

It wasn’t that Piers was opposed to it, but dealing with Gloria had come first, causing the man to put…whatever he had with Raihan on the backburner. At least Raihan was fine with pretending to keep their secret.

Marnie stood from the bed and left the room at that. “You guys are gross!” She shouted as she left, stalking back into her own room. Piers sighed in relief and picked his phone back up.

_I’ll check in on her then. Good luck keeping Leon away from her._

_No shit, he’s already worn me down._

_It’s those damn eyes._

Raihan never stood a chance. Leon and those damn honey gold eyes could bring any man or woman to their knees. The fact that Raihan had managed to keep the secret from him for so many years still seemed like a miracle to Piers. It didn’t seem like it was going to get kept much longer, however.

Keeping his word to Raihan, Piers pulled up Gloria’s contact info and began to text her.

**Problem Child**

_How are you doing today?_

_All good, you?_

Piers was instantly suspicious. He knew she was not all good, but Gloria was bad at telling people her problems and letting them help. He’d have to force it out of her.

_I’m about to jump on a train if you don’t start talking._

After texting with Gloria, and finding more about her situation, Piers started packing to head to Hammerlocke. She’d need the help dealing with this, and Piers was bored anyways. This was something to do.

He thought this process would go unbothered, but he startled when he heard a familiar female voice behind him. “Where ya goin’?” She asked, looking at Piers with wide eyes.

Piers took a deep breath to settle his heart. The girl could be quiet when she wanted to be, sneaking up on him like that. He spun around to face the girl, pulling his lips into a line. He had to think on the spot, he didn’t think Marnie would come to bother him again. “Hammerlocke,” he responded, turning back to his bag as he stuffed a change of clothes in.

“Are ya gonna sleep with Raihan?” She pulls out the shirt Piers had just stuffed in his bag to take a look at it.

“Maybe I am. Why, interested?” Piers lifted his eyebrows suggestively at her, and Marnie made a gagging motion.

“Gross,” she shot back, shaking her head as she stuffed the shirt back into his bag. “Have fun, I guess,” she finished, turning back and heading for the door.

The tall man threw his bag over his shoulder. “Alright, I’m out. Keep safe.” Piers called out to his sister, and she gave him a small wave before going back to her room.

“I should be tellin’ _you_ that, big bro,” Marnie teased, grabbing her phone from her bed and checking it. “Seriously, use protection and all that.”

“Oh, hahaha, love you too.” Piers rolled his eyes at her. He didn’t like lying to her, but it had been Gloria’s request. If his little sister had to think he was fucking his best friend, so be it. Raihan was pretty good in bed, after all, there could be worse things she could believe. Piers shook off the thought; he had to remind himself he was going to Hammerlocke for Gloria, not Raihan. He collected his Pokemon and began making his way to the train station.

As he boarded the train, what the older man failed to notice was his little sister, getting on a few cars back from him. She was finally suspicious enough about what her brother was _really_ up to in Hammerlocke and decided this was going to be the day she found out what her older brother had been hiding from her all this time.


	3. Chapter 3

Leon walked in the direction of the store as instructed by the kind stranger he just ran into. He wandered aimlessly for a bit since he got lost quite easily, but the bright blue sign of the clothing store eventually caught his attention. It was a small little shop out of the way that the poor champion would have probably missed otherwise. Upon entering, Leon skimmed the store with eager, golden eyes. He couldn’t seem to find the woman he’d been searching for, so the man asked one of the staff members about Gloria. 

“Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to know if someone named Gloria works here, would you?” Leon questioned kindly.

The woman he asked shook her head in response. “No, sir. I’m afraid there isn’t anyone named Gloria working here.”

Poor Leon scratched his head in confusion as he apologized to the worker for bothering her. As he left the boutique, he texted his younger brother for more information. Maybe Hop had been wrong? 

**#1 fan <3<3**

_Hey I thought you said she worked here? The staff said they don’t even know her??_

_Weird, I know I saw her!_

_Her hair’s a bit different, darker and stuff BUT I know it was her!_

_Was she just shopping here?_

Slightly frustrated, Leon opted to go to Raihan’s - if he could find it - and further vent about the situation. However, the longer he thought about it, the more he realized just how similar the girl from earlier looked compared to Gloria. She had different hair just like Hop mentioned, and she was a bit paler, too. There was a chance he was wrong, but still; Leon had to at least make sure. So, he took off running down the street in a desperate attempt to catch up to her. 

He bolted back the way he came - or at least, the way he thought he came from. He wasn’t totally sure. He didn’t have the greatest sense of direction on a good day, so when flustered like this, Leon’s sense of direction only became further impaired. Leon cursed his terrible sense of direction as he ran as fast as he could, desperately looking down streets and through shop windows, hoping to maybe see her.

Instead of finding Gloria, however, Leon found himself outside of Raihan’s home by pure dumb luck. He cursed quietly under his breath, disappointed he was unable to find the one he was looking for, especially when he’d actually _seen_ her. With the girl nowhere to be found, he decided to just go inside since there was a better chance of him getting lost if he left. Stepping up to the front door with a huff, Leon knocked on the door and waited impatiently to be let in. He had a lot to say.

After standing outside for a moment or two, the front door was pulled open to reveal a slightly concerned Raihan. “You alright? You look a mess,” his rival commented casually.

“You’ll never believe who I ran into,” Leon said as he brushed past Raihan and into his home. Even though he wasn’t technically invited inside, he was far too caught up in his mind to worry about politeness and pleasantries. Raihan didn’t even bat an eye, though; believe it or not, this was a bit of a normal occurrence. “Gloria! She’s here in Hammerlocke, Raihan!” Leon plopped himself onto Raihan’s couch with a harumph. “Er, I think she is, at least. I’m almost sure of it! She works at some retail store over… somewhere… Uh, Hop texted me the address. But I’m pretty positive I saw her today! Now, I have to try and find her again…” Leon slouched back into the couch with a dejected sigh. That was much easier said than done.

Raihan followed Leon to the couch and sat beside him, letting the champion say his piece and get whatever he needed off his chest. “That’s rough. I figured she would have gone somewhere with fewer people like Ballonlea…” Raihan mumbled, lying through his perfect, sharp teeth. He didn’t enjoy it, but Gloria had sworn him to secrecy; insisting on needing more time before confronting anyone - Leon especially. “... Do you think looking for her is still a good idea, though?”

“I…” Leon hesitated a moment before nodding affirmatively. “Yes, I want to help her. I wasn’t there for her before, but I want to be now - have this whole time.” There were so many things Leon regretted in the past, and the way he neglected Gloria before she disappeared was one of those things. That girl deserved so much better from him, and all he wanted was a chance to make up for his mistake. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things he wanted to say. He’d been so busy being chairman, and he thought he’d have all the time in the world to tell Gloria about how he felt, only to have that rug ripped out from under him when she’d vanished after Hop got hurt. “You know how I feel about her… I really want to convince her to give me a chance. If she wants to stay out of the spotlight, that’s fine; I can work with that. But Arceus, Rai… I miss her so terribly much,” Leon explained as he leaned against his friend with a sigh. 

“I figured you’d say something like that… just wanted to make sure.” Raihan rubbed Leon’s back comfortingly and adjusted himself so Leon was more comfortable leaning on his arm. “I’m sorry Leon, I know it feels like everything has gone to hell…” He lamented, feeling guilty for not saying anything about Gloria’s whereabouts. He really should say something… “She’s lucky to have someone like you on her heels worrying about her, even after all this time.”

Yes, the two of them were rivals, but first and foremost, Raihan was a friend. A horrible, guilty, lying friend, but a friend nonetheless. It was an impossible situation the poor dragon trainer was put in, and he didn’t know what to do. On one hand, he should tell Leon where the love of his life is hidden because the champion had been killing himself over this. But on the other, Rai should keep Gloria’s secret because he promised to and the girl seemed so fragile. This was very messy…

Leon sighed resignedly. “I guess I’ll keep trying at that store… Maybe I’ll catch her there if I keep checking. I can stay in Hammerlocke for a few days before work forces me back to Wyndon.” Leon dragged a hand over his face with a little groan. He’d got Oleana to take care of all his business while he came to Hammerlocke to search for Gloria. It bought him some time, so he packed his overnight bag, grabbed his Pokemon, and came to Hammerlocke. The trip was already bearing fruit, too, so it wasn’t a wasted effort. But now Leon needed somewhere to stay, as the hotels here never had enough room for Leon to spend time with his Pokemon in, so he turned to Raihan. “Mind if I crash here? You know how I feel about hotels…”

Raihan nodded softly against his better judgment. How could he refuse? Rai’s house has always been a safe haven whenever any of his friends needed a place to go; whether it be for a few minutes or a few days. “Of course you can. Make yourself comfortable.” He smirked a bit, trying to lighten the mood. “Maybe you’ll stay long enough for me to figure out all of the great champion’s secrets!”

Leon laughed. “You know I keep those closely guarded!” Despite the new playful atmosphere, he smiled warmly at his friend. “I appreciate this, Rai. And so do my pokemon! Perhaps you and I could even get some sparring in, yeah?” Leon really was grateful to have such an amazing friend like Raihan. It would be much easier to track down Gloria from here, and his Pokemon would be comfortable and well looked after. That, and he wouldn’t be so alone. The thought of pacing a hotel room with just his thoughts ricocheting around in his skull to keep him company made him feel anxious. He hated hotels, hated living out of them for multiple days in a row, but his job often called for it. If he didn’t have to stay in one during this trip to Hammerlocke, he’d be saving himself a lot of grief.

That line of thought made him think more about finding Gloria. Realizing he hadn’t heard back from his brother in a minute, Leon glanced at his phone to see that his previous message had been left on read. Little bugger…

**#1 fan <3<3**

_Come on, Hop, do you know if she worked there or not? Was she just shopping there that day?”_

_Yeah she works there! I even talked to her for a bit but she shooed me off cuz she was busy_

_Thanks little brother. I’m trying to find her._

_Of course Lee! If you need anything else, let me know!_

Leaning back against the couch and looking very confident, Raihan grinned. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll figure out all your secrets in due time. Beating you is just a waiting game!” He teased.

“This waiting game of yours has been going for several years, now. You do have patience, I’ll give you that!” He chuckled, nudging Raihan in the side as he texted. 

“All good things come to those who wait, my friend!” Glancing over Leon’s shoulder, Rai smirked when he saw who the champion was messaging. “Let our kid know I said hi.” He mentioned casually. While Lee was busy with that, Raihan pulled out his own phone and took a fun picture of himself, sneaking Leon in there, too. He couldn’t help himself, it was just a habit.

While Rai edited the photo, Leon glanced over and caught him doing so. “I should care more about this than I do, but just make me look good, yeah?” Leon leaned into Raihan to watch what the gym leader was doing. 

When Leon requested to look good in the picture, Rai was quick to mess around and do the exact opposite on purpose. Using the editor to give Leon an inflated head, he held back a snicker and showed the champion. “That’s pretty accurate, right?”

Leon rolled his eyes at Raihan’s antics and yanked the trainer’s bandana down over his eyes. “You’re such a dick! Ugh, but I chose this fate, I suppose. I _did_ ask to stay here.” With a playful huff, Lee went back to texting his little brother.

**#1 fan <3<3**

_You’re better to deal with than Raihan!_

_He says hi btw_

_Uh oh what did he do this time lol_

_Tl;dr he’s a prick_

_Shocker!_

_Lol ikr_

_Tell me, were you ever able to talk to Gloria more after she shooed you off?_

_No I waited outside for her, but she never came_

_Might’ve taken a back exit or something_

_Then I hope I can find her for us both._

“Oh, you fuck!” Raihan exclaimed in surprise when he suddenly couldn’t see. He chuckled and fixed his orange bandana before reaching over and flicking Leon’s hat right off his stupid head. “Whoops!” 

Leon flinched and managed a chuckle despite everything going on in his mind. “Like I said, a dick!” He swiped his hat off the floor and placed it back on his head. After a moment, Lee leaned back and stared at his phone, though his gaze went right through it. 

Gloria had to have recognized him, right? She was a smart girl, and she knew exactly what Leon looked like. Even in his disguise, the girl would’ve known who he was. So why didn’t she say anything? Gloria just went on with her life as if she didn’t even know him. Apparently, she didn’t want to be found…

Even so, he couldn’t just leave well enough alone. Leon really worried about her; the poor girl may still be blaming herself for what happened to Hop. It’s been years, but Lee wouldn’t put it past her to feel guilty even now. He had so much to say to her - so much to apologize for. So even if she wanted to stay hidden, Leon needed to find her to set things right. 

… But he couldn’t do much of anything on an empty stomach.

Leon put his phone away and glanced over at Raihan just in time to see him finish editing and posting the picture from earlier. The caption attached to it made him chuckle: ‘Gonna dethrone this cheeky king.’ “You look stunning, your majesty!” Raihan exclaimed dramatically with a smirk. 

“Yes, you are so very kind, peasant.” Leon drawled on, but he did appreciate the final product. The champion was naturally photogenic, and it was very difficult to make him look bad on camera. “Sooo, what are you making me for dinner?” He teased, nudging the man expectantly. 

“Pardon you?” He exclaimed. “You’re not a guest, mate! At this point, you’re literally family. Which means you don’t get any special treatment!” Raihan chuckled, only teasing the champion. 

Leon feigned offense as he gasped and put a hand to his chest. “How dare you not cook for your champion, much less your _chairman!_ I could fire you, you know.” He teased back, trying to fight back a large grin.

“You’re right! How could I be such a fool!” Raihan bowed deeply. “Right away, good sir!” He broke character immediately and chuckled; getting up and stretching out his limbs. “Anything you have in mind?” Rai started making his way to the kitchen, and Leon followed suit.

“You know me, Raihan. I’ll eat anything. You cook whatever you were planning to make, and I’m sure it’ll taste fantastic!” Leon exclaimed enthusiastically before breaking away to let his pokemon outside with Raihan’s. 

“Will do!” Rai responded as Leon left. He prepared a pot of water and set it on the stove to boil. Pasta sounded good - pasta _always_ sounded good.

While he had a moment to himself, he took a moment to message a couple of people. First, he texted Gloria to let her know Leon would be staying with him for a while. She didn’t seem particularly happy about this, but at least she knew not to come around for a while unless she wanted to actually talk to him. Then he messaged Piers to let him know what was going on and that Gloria probably needed someone with her. He seemed a lot more understanding than the girl in question, but that was to be expected.

With everything now taken care of, Raihan went outside to join everyone else; smiling wide as if nothing was going on. He wasn’t expecting to find Leon looking somber again as he pet Charizard to comfort himself. “Everything okay?” Rai wondered as he stepped over to Leon. 

“If I don’t find her while I’m here…” He started quietly, “Do you think I should just leave it alone? As much as I miss her, she’s not ready to talk to me. She would have done so when I asked for directions earlier,” Leon sighed and looked at his friend with defeat in his eyes - a rare, sad sight.

Rai shrugged and shook his head a bit. “I mean, she’s scared… I-I’m assuming,” He corrected himself and recovered quickly. No need to let the cat out of the bag right now. “If she pretended not to know you, she’s probably terrified. It’s been such a long time, and I doubt she even knows what to say to you at this point.” Raihan gave his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I can’t tell you what you should do here, Lee. You’re just gonna have to trust your instincts, mate.” 

Leon rubbed his face a bit. “I’m really out of my depth here. I’ve been after this girl for the last four years… I’m still reeling from seeing her again today, and I didn’t even realize it was her until she was long gone. I’m glad to know she’s alive, at least. She looked well.”

“Yeah, you’ve got it bad, mate.” He stared solemnly at his mess of a friend. Raihan wasn’t sure what to do in this situation either. He wanted to steer both Gloria and Leon in the right direction, but how could he do that when they were trying to go opposite ways? 

“You’re absolutely right, I do have it bad, Rai,” Leon chuckled, though there was little humor in his voice. “She’s amazing, how could I not? She’s beautiful and so very talented... Ugh, I don’t know Raihan! My heart says don’t give up until you’ve found her, but my mind says to take the hint when it’s given to you.” Leon took a moment to think over Rai’s words. If Gloria really was just afraid and didn’t know what to say after all this time, Leon wanted to assure her that he didn’t mind. She didn’t have to say anything; he would be more than happy to just have her back in his life once more. 

After a moment of consideration, Raihan figured he’d kept Gloria’s secret; now he needed to help out Leon this time. It was the least he could do. “Then you should try. At least then if you find her and she doesn’t take it well, you can say you’ve truly done everything you can for her.”

“I’m going to win her over, I swear it.” He looked down at the ground as he made the promise to himself. With newfound determination, Leon nodded. “If I don’t find her while I’m here, I’ll try again next time I have some time to myself. She’s worth it.” He rubbed his nose and sniffed quietly. “Need my help with dinner or anything?” 

Raihan gave the man a sad smile. His poor friend was so lovesick, and it was almost hard to watch. It was clear Leon was never going to stop looking; he’d probably tire out Gloria eventually. “Sure, come on. The champion is about to get schooled in the art of spaghetti-making.” It was always a competition with these two. 

Leon laughed genuinely and followed his friend inside to get his ass kicked. He was absolutely hopeless at many things; cooking was just one of the many skills he lacked. “If you think I’ll just take this laying down, you’ve got another thing coming, Raihan!” Leon boasted, elbowing Rai as he passed. 

Rai chuckled at the champion’s challenge, knowing damn well Leon couldn’t cook for shit. “Whatever you say, your majesty!” The dragon trainer may not be the best chef in all of Galar, but he was pretty damn good if he said so himself.

The next half hour was spent cooking and trying to keep Leon from burning his lovely house to the ground like the chaotic man he was. Leon could barely even boil water correctly. 

“Mate, it’s literally only water-”

“I DON’T DO THIS OFTEN, SOD OFF!”

After a while of bickering and a bit of flinging noodles at each other, supper was finally done. One dish looked like it could be served at a nice restaurant while the other looked…

“AHAHAHAHAA-”

“Shut up, Rai!” Leon exclaimed with a huff. Unsurprisingly, Raihan kicked his sorry ass, and Lee had to let the man gloat as much as he liked. “At least what I made is edible!” He complained. 

“Q-Quit trying to act like you made anything resembling food! I-It’s rubbish!” Raihan wheezed, his face beaming with victory as tears of laughter pricked at his eyes. He’d take whatever wins he could get. “A garbodor wouldn’t even touch it!” Yeah, Rai was enjoying this just a little more than he should, but who could really blame him?

Leon growled and shoved his friend, but he wasn’t wrong; not a single one of their pokemon would even go near Leon’s…whatever it ended up being. Of course, the champion ate it just fine, but that man had a stomach of steel and truly would eat anything. “You’re only bragging because you won at something for once!” He smiled at Raihan despite his loss. 

“You’re damn right I am!” Rai exclaimed as he happily ate away at his own spaghetti. He wouldn’t even deny the fact that he was reveling in his glory a bit too much. Whenever he looked over at Leon, though, he couldn’t help but gag in disgust. His food looked absolutely rancid, in his opinion. “Lord, how do you eat that stuff?” He asked incredulously. Raihan may have been the winner in this situation, but Leon still had a better stomach than he ever would.

Leon grinned widely. “Years of intense training, my friend! And I mean that in the sense that I’ve trained to eat like this for a long time, and also it’s because of my training with my pokemon that I can eat this!” He finished up his food without even batting an eye and threw out any extras knowing his pokemon wouldn’t touch it. They were all stealing whatever they could from Raihan, thankful for actual, edible food for once.

“You’re a right nutter, you know that?” He asked, squinting at his rival. Raihan’s phone then popped itself out of his pocket and took a picture of himself with his food. Leon reached over and tried to get his hand in the picture to try and photobomb the man, but he was too late. Rai posted it before going back to giving Leon a curious look.

“I’ve heard that’s exactly what it takes to remain champion for as long as I have.” Leon retorted with a grin. “You’ve met Mustard! Us champions are all quite the strange bunch.” The two of them fell into a normal back and forth as they continued their innocent banter and bickering throughout most of the day.

~~~

Gloria woke up with a start. She was breathing heavily and her heart was loudly pounding in her ears. Only after processing what happened did she even realize she was crying. After calming down a bit, the distressed girl went to the bathroom to clean herself up a bit. She let the sink run for a moment while she stared at herself in the mirror. What a mess...

It had been a while since she’s had nightmares; Gloria really thought she was done having such horrible memories replayed while she slept. But now that everything was being dug up at once, her bad dreams were resurfacing. The images of Hop beaten, bloodied, and nearly dead were images she’d like to forget if possible. 

Gloria cleaned her face and fixed up her hair the best she could. She looked presentable enough, she supposed - plus, it would be hard to tell she was crying. It wasn’t as if many people were going to see her to begin with. 

She left the bathroom and went back to the main room, sitting on the couch and fiddling with her phone. Scrolling through social media, Gloria could see that a certain dragon tamer was having fun. Honestly, it felt like Raihan was posting something every second of the day. She felt a strange pang in her chest whenever she came across a picture with Leon in it, but she found it easier to just ignore it. Just then, she received a text from Piers.

**Father Figure**

_Hey just got off the train I’m on my way over_

_Okay, see you soon_

She did her best to relax, but it was hard when so much was still up in the air. Was Piers going to just come over and let Gloria vent, or were they going over to Raihan’s and finally confront Leon? Was she going to bawl her eyes out on the couch? Or would she go numb again? She didn’t like feeling numb... 

Gloria was ripped from her thoughts and jumped in surprise when she heard the buzzer go off by the front door. That was Piers… Well, there was no backing out now. It was time to actually do something about this disaster even if every part of her was shaking with fear and anxiety. All Gloria wanted to do was hide under the covers and pray everything else just magically went away.

Getting up, she went to the buzzer and let Piers up into the building. Instead of going back to the couch, though, Gloria just stood there in front of the door and waited robotically for the man to come to her door. What else could she do?

After standing there in silence for a few minutes, there was a knock at the door which made her flinch again. “Glo? It’s me.” Piers could be heard calling Gloria from the other side of the door.

Shaking away her nerves, Gloria opened the door with a forced little smile. “Hey there, stranger…” She joked quietly. 

“Long time no see.” Piers replied, letting himself into her small apartment. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Tell me honestly, how ya doin’? Do ya really wanna do this?” He asked with a bit of concern, his eyebrows furrowing.

Gloria shut the door and shrugged, doing her best to look casual. “Well, I haven’t devolved into a complete disaster quite yet, so that’s something I guess…” She mumbled while wrapping her arms around herself. Her gaze stayed low to the ground. “Leon is a very determined man; he isn’t just going to drop this and stop looking for me. Especially now that he’s actually seen me with his own eyes.… The least I can do is let him know I’m okay. Maybe then, he can start spending his time doing something a bit more productive…” The girl exhaled deeply and hid behind her hands. “Aghhh, this is all bollocks…!”

“I think you’ll feel better once ya finally deal with all this, though. You’ve been runnin’ from Leon an’ everyone else for so long, so it’s gonna feel nice to live your life again.” Piers offered, stepping over and rubbing Gloria’s back comfortingly. “Because you’re right - Leon isn’t gonna stop. He’ll just keep comin’ back until he finds ya again.” 

“I guess…” She sighed shakily and just gave herself a moment to calm down. Living her life again? What would that even entail? Certainly not staying in Hammerlocke, going to work at a boring job, and returning straight back home day in and day out. Things would never be normal again by any means, but maybe she could at least go back to training pokemon. Start small, maybe get a little wooloo and go from there. That sounded nice… “Okay. How do you think I should go about doing… whatever it is that we’re doing?”

Piers shrugged. “Up t’you. This is your problem, an’ I don’t wanna influence your choices. I’ll help with whatever ya need me to, though. You’re gonna get through this, kiddo.” All he wanted was to see his friend truly smile for once. Piers hadn’t seen anything genuine from her in such a long time. 

She thought silently for a while. Gloria knew Piers was right and it was better if he didn’t make decisions for her. But sometimes she wished he would just tell her what to do.

“Wouldn’t it be nice ta get out o’ workin’ retail?” Piers taunted with a raised eyebrow.

Gloria glared playfully at the man. “Piss off, you’re such a brat!” With a defeated sigh, she dropped the glare and leaned against her friend. “Okay, you’re right; my job is shit. I suppose we go to Raihan’s then…”

“Good, I agree. Think that’s the smartest choice. Just talk t’him, and he’ll listen ta whatever ya hafta say.” Piers wrapped one arm around the girl to offer a comforting hug. “That man’s dumb enough ta forgive ya for anythin’,” He tossed out with a grin, glancing down at the small girl in his arm.

“Yeah, I know…” She muttered in response. Of course Leon would take whatever apology Gloria had to give, but whether or not she *wanted* to be forgiven was another question entirely. After what she put everyone through, she didn’t deserve Leon’s kindness... Regardless, she returned Piers’s hug without complaint; squeezing the poor man just a bit. Even if she wasn’t confident or bubbly like she once was, Gloria still enjoyed being affectionate. “Thank you for helping me out and all that. You really didn’t have to…”

“Ya know I’ll always come help, yeah? Now, let’s get ya ready t’go see Leon.” It was clear Piers was worried about her, but figured she’d be happier once the truth was out. Everyone would feel much better once this was over.

Gloria pulled away a bit reluctantly and went to grab her things. Even if the hug was short, it was still nice; she really needed that. “Bet I look a right mess…” She commented quietly.

“You’ve seen better days, Glo. Go wash up if ya want, don’t mind waitin’.” Piers suggested as he sat down on the couch. 

She sighed and nodded in resignation. Yeah, that was probably for the best. “I won’t be long.” Gloria disappeared into her room and grabbed some clothes before crossing the hall and entering the bathroom. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, the girl cringed. Now that she was more awake, Gloria could agree that she looked like hell.

She tried not to take too long in the shower washing and rinsing her body without missing anything. Still, she couldn’t help how her mind seemed to wander as she overthought everything. At the moment she was calm, but that might end once she was face to face with Leon. Would she go quiet? Cry? Or would she keep this calm facade? Gloria was glad she’d have Piers and Rai with her… Oh, no. Would Leon get mad at them for lying? Or would he get mad at _her_ for asking them to lie?

While Gloria was freaking out in the shower, Piers waited idly on the couch for her to finish washing up. Fiddling around on his phone, he decided to text Raihan to let him know what was going on.

**< 3 Rai <3**

_Glo and I are coming over in a bit, is Leon still there?_

_Holy shit, really?_

_Yeah he’s still around. How’s Gloria feeling?_

_She’s shaken up about being stopped by him today but knows he’s not going away anytime soon. She wants to be in control of when and how she confronts him._

_I told her I’d go for moral support. I imagine she’ll need you too._

_Can’t say I blame her. I just hope Leon doesn’t take any of this too hard…_

_I worry about that, too. I’ve got a plan to get her out if things get hairy, though_

_Good, I just hope it doesn’t come to that…_

Piers sighed with a frown. Would Leon be okay? It might seem like they were all ganging up on him… He just wanted things to go well, especially for Gloria’s sake. He knew this was probably stressing her out, and he really hoped she’d be able to go through with this. But if it didn’t go like he promised it would, Piers didn’t want to think about how it might affect the poor girl.

Realizing he hadn’t heard anything from the bathroom in a while, he called out to her. “Glo? Y’almost ready?” 

The girl had just turned off the water and stepped out of the shower when she heard Piers. “S-Sorry! Yeah, I’m just drying off!” She replied as she picked up the pace. Gloria was a little sloppy and it was a pain in the ass to get her clothes on quickly with her damp skin, but she managed. She brushed a hand through her dark, wet hair and glanced at herself in the mirror. _Better,_ she thought with a shrug before leaving the room.

Watching as the girl walked out into the living room, he gave her a once over. “Well, ya don’t look like you’re dyin’ anymore, at least,” he remarked with amusement. Piers got up and went over to her, ruffling Gloria’s hair a bit. “Ready t’go?”

“Yes, let’s be off.” She responded as she grabbed her bag and jacket. The two of them left the apartment and walked down the hall together; stepping into the lift and letting it take them to the lobby. While they slowly went down the floors, Piers took the opportunity to message Rai one last time before they were officially off. 

**< 3 Rai <3**

_Agreed. We’re on our way, so we’ll see you soon._

_See you in a bit, gorgeous ;)_

Piers blushed lightly at Rai’s text as he felt the faintest of butterflies in his stomach. Dammit, that dragon tamer and his flirting… 

“Who’re you texting?” The man flinched and glanced over to see Gloria peering over his shoulder much like his own nosy sister. 

“My partner in crime.” He replied casually as he put his phone away so she couldn’t read any of his texts. With a sigh, he put an arm around her shoulders as they left the elevator and walked to the doors. “We’re both just… worried about’cha, y’know?”

Ah, Raihan; she kind of figured they were texting what with the not-so-subtle flirting, and all. Gloria vaguely wondered how he was reacting to her finally working up the courage to talk to Leon. Guess she’d find out when she got there. “Yeah… You don’t have to worry so much, though. I’m a big girl.” Gloria replied, trying to convince Piers that she’d be alright. This earned her a knowing glance from the man; apparently, she was anything but persuasive…

Walking outside and going down the stairs, the pair didn’t get very far when a petite girl stepped in front of them with crossed arms. Marnie stared at the two of them incredulously with shock and anger written on her face. “Gloria?!”

The ex-champion tensed up and bit the inside of her cheek. This was not good. "Shit…” 


	4. Chapter 4

“Marn? What’re ya doin’ here?” Piers questioned with wide eyes. He wasn’t expecting to see his sister waiting for them outside. “Did ya actually follow me?” He accused, squinting his eyes suspiciously. 

The angry girl nodded. “I got tired of you actin’ all shirty ‘bout everythin’, so I stuck my nose in! Glad I did, too! _This_ is what you’ve been hidin’ from me all this time? _Why?_ ” Marines eyes welled up with unshed tears, which she furiously wiped away. “Why c-couldn’t ya at least tell me she was okay...?” Her voice went quiet as she began to sob in earnest. All of the rage, sadness, and desperation the girl had felt over the years had accumulated, and Marnie felt like she’d explode with emotion.

Piers frowned as his sister started to cry. “I’m sorry, Marn…” He reached out to hold her, but Marnie only shoved him away and bawled harder. He didn’t know what to do, so he just stood there and pulled awkwardly at his necklace. It had been so long since he’d seen her cry, especially as hard as that. Piers didn’t know how to comfort her now, not that she’d let him…

Gloria was very...quiet. She didn’t know how to react, so she just stood there like a dopey fool. What was she supposed to say? Of course Marnie was bound to find out; the fact that they were able to keep all of this from her for as long as they have was a miracle. The ex-champion just didn’t want to drag anyone else into her shitshow. Especially not Marnie; not when her career was just starting. That girl had better things to worry about than Gloria’s disaster of a life. Still, the guilt she felt was heavy on her heart when she saw Marnie’s tears. It felt easier to disappear, but her selfishness hurt other people…

Gloria’s gaze fell to the ground while she grinded her teeth out of habit. “I’m sorry, Marnie…” was all she really knew how to say. Apologies were coming out of her mouth a lot these days.

At the sound of her friend’s voice, Marnie rushed over and embraced her in a tight hug. “W-Why didn’t ya tell me? Why’d ya tell my bro ‘n’ not me? I’ve missed ya so much…!” She cried as she clung to Gloria as if she’d disappear. Piers stepped over and tried to rub Marnie’s back since it seemed like she was okay with being touched now, but he was wrong. She angrily swatted his hand away and went back to clutching Gloria’s jacket. “I’m still right livid with ya, bro! Ya kept her from me all this time even though ya knew how worried I was!” 

Gloria was almost frozen stiff for a moment. She had been expecting the same treatment as Piers; not a bear hug with Marnie clinging to her for dear life. She really did worry the poor thing, didn’t she? “Don’t be too mad at him, please…” she mumbled while wrapping an arm around the girl. “I asked him not to tell anyone. I just needed some time, and you had so much on your plate already. I’m sorry, Mar…”

“Exactly, I just wanted t’respect Glo’s wishes. I really am sorry, Marn…” Piers explained quietly. 

Marnie glanced between the two of them before calming down enough to let Gloria go. She turns to her brother, pressing her lips into a line. “Okay, I guess I could forgive ya a little… But I’m still gonna be mad for a while!” She glared at him, but Marnie didn’t push him off when he rubbed her back this time. Gloria smiled despite the girl’s glaring at her brother. She was just happy Marnie forgave him, even if it was just a little bit. It was better than nothing, and Gloria figured the two of them would be fine after a bit. “Where’re ya two goin’, anyways?” She asked curiously. 

“Raihan’s,” Gloria responded with a sigh. “Leon is there, so… fun.” She fiddled with the zipper of her jacket anxiously. “I ran into him earlier, so now I’m just gonna get the execution over with, I guess…”

Marnie nodded in understanding as her lips were pulled into a small frown. “Ya gonna be okay?” She asked her old friend worriedly. She hadn’t seen Gloria in years, and she missed her so terribly much. She could only imagine how hard all of this must be for her, especially confronting Leon. If Marnie reacted like that, Arceus only knew what the champion would do.

“You kidding? Of course I’ll be okay,” Gloria replied with a small smile. It was a pretty obvious lie, but she didn’t want to worry Marnie more than she already has.

Piers raised an eyebrow at his sister. “Why, ya lookin’ to come too, or somethin’?”

Marnie pouted and averted her eyes with a little nod. “I just found her again, I don’t wanna leave already…” she mumbled, pushing her fingers together as she stared at the ground.

With such a cute face like that, Gloria couldn’t deny her at all. The gym leader was such a sweetheart, and she didn’t want to just leave her friend behind. She pulled Marnie into a hug and pressed their faces together, staring at Piers with her big brown eyes that silently begged, ‘Pretty please?’

Piers shrugged, completely unaffected by her puppy dog eyes. Marnie’s been pulling similar tricks to that for years, so he was completely immune to it. “It’s up to you, Glo. This is your thing ta deal with, not mine. If ya want Marn with ya, it’s your decision.” The girl huffed lightly, though she knew better at this point; she could use the power of her big adorable eyes on literally anyone but Piers. That man was as hard as ever.

Marnie took this opportunity to try and convince Gloria, not that she needed much convincing. “I wanna help, please. I know it’s been a while, but you’re still one o’ my best friends, Glo. Please?” She begged softly, taking her friend by the hands.

The ex-champion smiled genuinely; it was tiny, but it was definitely there. “Course you can, no need to ask like that!” Gloria responded sweetly.

Piers only shrugged and began to lead the three of them to Raihan’s home. Marnie perked up and smirked. “Oh, by th’ by, you’re still a piss poor liar. We all know you’re not really goin’ ta be okay.”

Gloria made a pouty face and huffed. “That’s rude, I am a fantastic liar…!”

“Only rude ‘cause I have years ta make up for!” The gym leader teased with a smile, linking her arm with Gloria’s as they walked down the street. 

“An’ we have better bullshit detectors than the average member o’ the public, Glo.” Piers teased, elbowing the girl playfully.

Gloria bapped the man’s arm away in retaliation. “I hate it, but it’s true. It’s annoying how perceptive you two are,” she replied, happily pulling Marnie along; she felt a bit better about the situation now. Things didn’t feel normal, per se, but it seemed almost manageable now that she had Piers and Marnie.

The man only laughed in response. Everyone always cursed the siblings’ ridiculous bullshit detectors. Everyone knew better than to lie around either of them unless you wanted to get called out. Neither of them ever bothered to hold their tongues if they caught someone in a lie. 

The walk to Rai’s home was fairly peaceful, and Gloria was feeling pretty good. She and Marnie talked most of the way there while Piers just listened casually. The two girls fell into a comfortable back and forth about what they’ve been up to recently and how Marnie’s gym was doing. It was nice and friendly until they found themselves in front of the large house. 

Whatever feeling of calm Gloria had was promptly yeeted into the sun.

Piers went up and knocked on the door as they arrived, and the girl quickly became anxious and antsy. Her mind immediately went into its routine of second-guessing her decisions at every movement, wondering if it was too late to backpedal and get out of this. Her instinct to run was loud and demanded to be listened to. She couldn’t be here - not now. It wasn’t okay, and even though she was safe, she didn’t _feel_ safe. 

Marnie gripped the girl’s arm tightly when she felt Gloria start to pull away. It brought the ex-champion back to reality just for a moment. “You can do this, we’ve got you,” Marnie encouraged quietly, doing her best to comfort the poor thing.

“Okay…” Gloria whispered in response. Marnie’s efforts helped a bit. Gloria didn’t believe she could do much of anything except run for the hills, but it was clear to her now that she couldn’t back out. _Just get it over with; the hard part is almost over…_

A bit of fumbling could be heard from the other side of the door, followed by Raihan calling out to them. “C-Coming!” Piers just stood there calm and collected, though his foot tapped anxiously as he waited for it to open. When it did, he took a step back so as not to get in Rai’s way. “Hey there,” the dragon tamer greeted, nodding to Gloria and Piers. Turning to Marnie, he gave her a confused look. “When’d you get here, kid?”

“The little stalker caught on an’ followed me, sorry,” Piers grumbled, answering for his sister. He entered the house first to give Gloria a bit of a shield to hide behind if she needed it. 

Marnie glanced at Raihan and shrugged. “I regret nothin’,” She maintained, squeezing Gloria’s hand as she walked in with her. Rai chuckled despite the situation as he closed the door behind them. Of course Marnie would follow her brother, the nosy little thing. 

Gloria shuffled along anxiously, trying to stall behind Piers until she didn’t have anywhere else to go. She was silently grateful to him for letting her hide behind him. The girl tugged on her sleeves to hide her hands and grinded her teeth - any nervous tic she had, she was doing it. Gloria could hardly stand still at this point.

Leon, being the ever-curious man that he was, stood near the entrance to see who would enter the house. Seeing Piers, he smiled and offered a wave. “Hey, looks like we have a right party now! What are you doing here?” He asked naively.

Piers only shrugged. “Moral support.” That was all he could really tell Leon. At least it wasn’t a lie. 

“Uh, moral support for who?” Leon questioned with confusion. He went over to greet them properly only to realize there was more than just Marnie standing behind Piers. “Who else is with you?” The champion tried to glance over and around the dark type trainer to see it was, but that man was good at angling himself to hide a whole ass person.

Piers raised an eyebrow at Leon, shifting slightly to continue blocking Gloria from view. He wasn’t about to let him bother the girl until she was ready. “Nosy, aren’t’cha?” Piers commented, unfazed as the man frowned at him. 

Gloria had been working up the nerve to finally say something, but it wasn’t going much of anywhere. She could feel the tension begin to rise between Leon and Piers, which was the last thing she needed. She was grateful for Piers protecting her the way he was, but she didn’t want Leon to get more upset than he already would be. So the girl rubbed her nose a bit before finally giving herself a little nod. “It’s alright, Piers…” She mumbled, ready to confront whatever was in store for her. It wasn’t actually alright; her hands were shaking, so she ended up just putting them in her pockets. Gloria felt like she was on high alert as her fight or flight instincts tried to take hold one last time. But it wasn’t like she had anywhere to go; she couldn’t just start running. 

Piers nodded before stepping out of the way, giving the girl a comforting pat on the shoulder as he let Gloria deal with this. He stood close by, though, in case she needed him for any reason. Upon seeing the small frame of a very familiar girl, Leon gasped in surprise. “Glory…?” 

Gloria’s stomach churned at the nickname. It was the sweetest thing she’d heard in a long time, but she didn’t deserve it. A nickname like Glory was only suited for people who weren’t failures, so being called something so amazing just didn’t sit well with her. “I- uh, yeah… Hi, Lee…” She greeted awkwardly, keeping her gaze on anything but Leon. The girl couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye at that moment, or she’d completely break down. 

Now that she was here in front of him and he was actually paying more attention to her, Leon was able to get a good look at her and really take in her new appearance. Gloria was just as beautiful as he remembered, though in a different light this time. The new hair color and length complimented her face and skin perfectly. She was pale but looked anything other than sickly. She was gorgeous, and all Leon wanted to do was touch her - hold her and tell her everything would be fine. 

Leon took a step forward to reach out to her, but the terrified girl shrunk back in response. It wouldn’t be impossible, but the champion would have to show a lot of restraint. As tempting as it was to go up to Gloria to pull her into his arms and never let go, she didn’t want that. Lee couldn’t afford to scare her off or upset her, either; the fact that she came to him at all was a small miracle in and of itself. He vaguely wondered why Marnie and Piers were even with her, and he realized they probably knew where she’d been this whole time. But instead of getting angry about that, he decided to push that thought away for a moment so he could put all of his focus on the woman in front of him. 

Leon swallowed thickly, unsure of what to tell the woman he’s spent almost half a decade searching for. “... I’ve missed you…” He settled on after an awkward pause. He’d practiced what he would tell Gloria one day so many times, but words failed him now that she was actually in front of him.

Gloria was quiet for a while after that, and everyone expected it to stay that way. So that’s how she was going to play the situation - with silence. Nobody blamed her for it; she was probably scared out of her mind. But then she let out a shaky breath and nodded minutely. “I missed you, too…” She breathed, which was true. Gloria missed quite a few things from her previous life. Leon and her close friends were some of what she wished she never left behind.

“I forgive you,” Leon begins, his brain finally returning to him at that moment. Now he was able to collect his thoughts enough to tell her at least some of the things he’d always wanted to say to his Glory. “I know it was an accident. Neither Hop nor I ever blamed you for what happened. It wasn’t your fault, and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m so sorry I let the media destroy you. But more importantly, I am so, so sorry for letting you down.” Leon apologized profusely, shaking as he grabbed his arms to keep himself from grabbing her. 

Gloria bit her lip and turned away to try and keep herself from crying. How was she supposed to respond to that? She could hardly find her voice as it was. “You d- you don’t have to apologize. And you _definitely_ don’t have to forgive me…” She responded quietly. It was true that Leon wasn’t there when he should have been, but in Gloria’s opinion, she should’ve been able to handle whatever was thrown at her. It was her responsibility to handle things like the media. Hop should’ve never gotten hurt to begin with. She was the bloody champion, for fuck’s sake.

“Of course I do,” Leon responded with a frown. “You don’t have to blame yourself anymore, Glory. Accidents happen, and there was nothing anyone could have done differently in that situation to have changed the outcome. Carrying this guilt with you is unhealthy. Hop is alive, and you’re alive. That’s what matters.” Leon took a cautious step closer to her, hoping Gloria wouldn’t back away from him. He was treating her as though she was a cornered pokemon that Leon had to carefully advance on and move slowly towards so he didn’t scare her. She looked so small and terrified, and all he wanted to do was protect her. 

But how could she _not_ blame herself? Hop could have died - he nearly _did_ right in her arms. It was impossible for Gloria to just let that go. “N-No… No. I should’ve- I _could’ve_ done something…! It was my job to do something, dammit…” She wanted to yell, but her words only came out as shaky mutterings. Gloria was trying to convince herself that there was something - anything - she could’ve done differently. She didn’t flinch when Leon stepped closer, but she wasn’t really paying attention to him. The poor girl was lost in her own mind at the moment, replaying the events over and over in her head. She was shaking like a leaf and glaring at the floor. Her first tear finally fell, but Gloria was quick to wipe it away.

“No, Glory. You did everything you could have. You did your absolute best. And Hop lived because of that! You saved his life, but then treated him as though he died.” Leon carefully and gently set a single hand on her shoulder, testing the waters to see how she’d react to it. She flinched in surprise, not expecting the man to touch her. But after her initial shock, Gloria didn’t make any moves to pull away or brush Leon’s hand off. Her mind was still fighting with itself while she also tried to process all of his words. Saved Hop? No, surely not. Right…? “We all just miss you, Glory; _I_ miss you…” He whispered softly as tears built up in his own golden eyes. “Please just let us be a part of your life…”

The small girl made the mistake of glancing up at Leon and caught the look in his beautifully sad eyes. Immediately, more tears welled up in her own brown orbs, and she couldn’t help but look away as she tried to wipe them all off her face as they came. “Shit…” She whimpered, hiccuping quietly.

The moment she started crying, Leon couldn’t resist any longer and pulled the girl into his arms. He wrapped them around her and held the girl in a tight hug, curling around her protectively. The look of overwhelming sadness in her eyes was something he could never get out of his head. “It’s okay now, Glory. I promise it’s all going to be okay now…” Leon whispered, gently petting her soft hair as he held her close to his chest. He meant it, too; he would do anything to keep her at his side and safe. He was going to do everything in his power to make things go well for Gloria. He _would_ protect her this time. 

Sobs wracked her body as she cried against him. She let Leon hold her as she just gave up on pretending she wasn’t a destroyed, broken person. Gloria’s body shook with nerves and anxiety, and her hands clenched onto Leon’s shirt until her knuckles turned white; it would be pretty impossible to tear her away from him - not that anyone would. For the first time in a very long time, Gloria let herself actually believe that things would be okay regardless of if they actually would be or not. 

One of his hands entangled itself in her hair as he cradled her head in his chest, the other wrapped around her waist. Like this, Gloria felt safe. That wasn’t something she could say very often. Regardless of who was right and who was wrong in this situation, she was okay. All she needed was time to adjust so she could decide what she wanted to do after she had her emotions. That was something to worry about in the future, however. Having Leon hold her like this soothed her, especially with a hand against her head. It felt nice. Gloria was still crying - and she might be for a while - but she was starting to calm down just a little bit.

“There, that’s it…” Leon encouraged her quietly when her sobbing slowed down. He rubbed her back while stroking her hair. It seemed to be making her feel better, and he enjoyed the softness in his hands. He was so thankful to be able to have this moment and hold her so close to him. Leon memorized as much as he could in case he never got another chance. The way she smelt and sounded, her warmth, the way she clung to him so desperately. Every little detail was engraved into his brain. 

The girl’s heart stopped pounding in her ears, and she held Lee closer if that was even possible. Unlike him, she didn’t bother trying to keep this memory forever because Gloria wasn’t worried about not holding him again. She wasn’t worried about anything, actually. She simply stood there with her head leaning against his chest and focused on the sound of his breathing. The girl listened and felt how his chest rose and fell in even breaths. Leon seemed so… calm. Her focus was fixed on that as she tried to copy him, breathing slower and softer than before.

“... Well, this went better than I thought,” Piers piped up suddenly as he watched the happy reunion between the two old friends. Gloria snorted lightly despite herself; the man’s casual attitude was just something she thought was funny. Marnie nodded from where she stood beside him as she wiped away her silent tears with the sleeve of her jacket. 

Leon glared at the man across the room. “I still have words for you.” He muttered bitterly, but his focus remained on the girl in his arms. Gloria was too precious to ignore for even a moment. He turned back to look at the sweet woman who was curled tightly into him. Even after calming down, she didn’t bother to move out of Lee’s grasp. This was something he could definitely get used to. Leon only wished he could hold her forever.

“Don’t be too mad, I asked them not to tell anyone I was here...” Gloria mumbled guiltily. She assumed he knew what’s been going on with the way he responded angrily to Piers. Leon had a good reason to be mad, too, but she didn’t want him to take it out on them. The girl was a very convincing person.

“Of course I’m mad at Piers. He’s my friend, and I thought that, as a friend, he wouldn’t keep such things from me.” Leon glared at the tall man momentarily before turning back to Gloria. He looked down at her and shook his head, not understanding. “Why? You trusted them, but you couldn’t trust me?” He sounded hurt, and it broke Gloria’s heart. She never meant to hurt anyone, but it was par for the course. Her actions affected more than just her.

Before she had a chance to respond and answer his question, Piers spoke up again. “I’d do it again if I had to. It’s what she needed.” The man shrugged and nodded over to the dragon tamer. “I’m surprised you’re gettin’ all huffy with me ‘n’ not Raihan for keepin’ it from ya.” It was a misunderstanding on his part. If Piers had known Leon didn’t actually know Raihan had anything to do with it, he would’ve kept his mouth shut.

But it was too late now. Leon stepped back from Gloria so as not to hurt her when he whipped around and grabbed his supposed friend by the collar of his jacket. He shoved the gym leader up against the wall and growled angrily in his face. If he wasn’t taller than Leon, the champion would have lifted him, too. “YOU KNEW WHERE SHE WAS THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU DIDN’T THINK TO TELL ME?!” He roared, raging like an angered Primeape.

Gloria flinched and tensed up at the sound of Leon’s angry voice. Had she ever seen him so mad before? She couldn’t recall right now, but this was probably a first. She didn’t like it. Anger didn’t suit Lee at all; he was always so happy and sweet. Maybe a little dense at times, but never mean or enraged like this. “H-Hey…!” She called, trying to calm down the situation. But with such a small and timid voice, Gloria was not expecting to be heard or listened to, honestly.

“Whoops, thought he knew.” The tall dark man across the room shrugged, though guilt was written all over his face. He didn’t mean to get Raihan in trouble.

Despite everyone else worried about what was going on, Raihan seemed almost resigned to his fate. Honestly, he was expecting much worse than this. Yes, it was Leon and he was usually a saint, but this also involved Gloria. So if he got hurt by the end of this, Rai would say he had it coming. “... I did.” He replied to Leon’s angry words as he avoided eye contact. He would’ve been madder at Piers for just putting that out there so nonchalantly, but Leon was bound to find out eventually. There was no point in being angry at Piers for speeding up the inevitable. “Sorry, mate…” 

Leon punched the wall by Raihan’s head, growling as his anger came to a boil. It made the other flinch; both from the possibility of getting hit and the look on his friend’s face. But Rai didn’t push him away or make any moves to escape the situation. There was a hole there now, and Lee shook his hand out a bit from the pain, but other than that, he didn’t show that it hurt that much. That seemed to calm him down enough to take a deep breath. He was still shaking with anger, but he let go of the dragon trainer and stepped away before he did something he’d regret. “How could you…?” Leon’s voice was quiet and hollow as he stared the man down with pained eyes. He trusted Raihan, and this is how he was repaid for it.

“Someone’s in a mood…” The man leaning against the wall muttered as he adjusted his jacket and rubbed his neck a bit. Now wasn’t the time to be making light of anything, but Rai was an inappropriate idiot. “I know you disagree with how I handled things, but what should I have done instead? She came to me for help and asked me not to tell anyone. Of course I wanted to tell you! You can be pissed all you want - you’ve got the right to do that. But she took priority. I’m sorry, Leon.” He apologized sincerely, but he would still defend his actions. Raihan did feel guilty for hiding all of this from his friend, but Gloria was more important at that moment.

Leon sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not going to just forgive you, Raihan - not for this. Maybe she took priority at first, but it’s been years, Raihan! _Years!_ Would you have _ever_ told me!? If she didn’t decide to come to me today, would you have let me spend the rest of my life searching for her?!” He was heartbroken and lost, unsure of who he could trust at this point. Leon’s own friends who knew all of the troubling thoughts in his mind were secretly keeping her hidden from him all this time. Who else was in on it? Who else knew she had been here this whole time? “I just… I don’t think I can stay here, Raihan.” Leon couldn’t meet his eyes, nor anyone else’s. He felt dizzy as though his whole world was suddenly flipped on its head. Furious, gutted, and betrayed all at once, he just wanted to scream and cry - punching something was another urge he fought. All he could do was stand there in the living room as his body shook in an attempt to keep himself from hyperventilating.

The dragon trainer scratched his neck and nodded regretfully. “I understand. You take care of yourself, mate…” Raihan wanted to believe that he would have told Leon eventually, but he honestly wasn’t too sure. He nearly did earlier, so maybe he would’ve with a bit more time. But it didn’t matter now. Leon was hurt, and who could really blame him? Lee would talk about Gloria all the time, and Rai just let him prattle on completely unaware of the girl being right under his nose. He was rightfully pissed, and it was probably for the best if Leon left for now. Not like Raihan could say anything to change his mind.

Gloria watched on with sad eyes, the girl’s thoughts already starting to fall back in line with what her mind usually did - blame herself. She _did_ cause this, after all. At least Leon didn’t actually punch the man, but Gloria felt bad about the ruined wall… and Lee’s hand… She just felt bad in general. She glanced at the champion before shamefully looking back down at the floor. He was such a nice person and didn’t deserve to hurt, especially not because of her. Without much else to say, Gloria whispered her new favorite catchphrase, “I’m sorry…”

Piers and Marnie were shifting awkwardly near the door during the whole affair. The younger sister could relate to Leon’s pain, though not as horribly. She was hurt when her brother kept this from her, too. But at least she knew that Piers was keeping some sort of secret, and learning what it was hadn’t come as quite the shock to her. She could only imagine how Leon felt; he probably had no clue what was going on. This was all just dropped on him at once. No wonder he punched a wall today. Marnie would have punched a whole lot more than a wall if she was in Lee’s shoes.

Leon turned to the small girl he adored and sighed softly. His eyes were still sad and broken, but looking at her made them shine just a bit more. “Glory… I forgive you - I’ll always forgive you.” The champion stepped forward and brushed a hand through her hair. “We should talk more later. If you want to come see me, I’ll be at the Hammerlocke inn. Perhaps I’ll see you soon.” Giving one last glance to the people in the room, Leon huffed in defeat and collected his pokemon before leaving the home to search for the hotel.

They all stood there in the dead, awkward silence. The sound of the door slamming shut made Gloria flinch.


	5. Chapter 5

Ring…

Ring…

Ri- click.

“Sup, Lee?”

Leon sighed in relief when he heard his little brother’s voice greet him casually. “Are you free right now, Hop? I could really use you right now…” The man’s voice wavered as he spoke. 

“Yeah, what’s up? You okay?” Hop sat up in bed and asked with concern. It was faint, but he heard how Leon’s voice shook with sadness. 

Leon took a deep breath. “No… Not really…”

“What happened?” His brother asked in a soft voice, preparing for Leon to talk a lot. He didn’t mind, though. Something was clearly wrong, and Hop wanted to help in any way he can.

“Well…” The champion tried to find his words as he walked down the street. Leon was so very lost as he tried to locate the inn, but that was the last thing he was worried about. “Gloria showed up with Marnie and Piers. She was so scared, Hop. I just want to run back over there and wrap her up in another hug. Arceus, she needed it... We talked a tad, and I told her to come to see me at the inn if she wanted to talk more… B-But that’s not really the problem. Piers and Raihan  _ knew  _ where she was! They knew the whole time! I can’t count how many times I vented to Rai about her, and he was silent. He didn’t even bother to mention how she was okay! I trusted him, and he lied right to my face for years…” Leon sighed in defeat. “So now, I... I don’t know who to trust. Who do I turn to? I can’t stand the thought of seeing Raihan’s face again…! It just makes me want to- to punch something! I’m fucking livid, and I don’t know what to do, Hop…” Leon didn’t even hold back as he completely unloaded on his poor little brother. He was so thankful to have him at least; he didn’t know what he’d ever do without Hop. 

The brother sitting in his room paced around thoughtfully and listened intently to Leon, never interrupting. That man needed someone to just listen to him for a while. Even after Lee finished, Hop kept walking back and forth for a bit. It was hard for him to sit still, especially when something was wrong. “I’m thrilled she’s at least okay… Well, she knows where you’re at, so I’m sure she’ll come see you,” He said hopefully. “As for Rai…” Hop’s face scrunched up intensely, unsure of what to say. Of course he would take Lee’s side, but he and Raihan have been friends since… forever! Er, at least that’s how long it  _ felt  _ like it’s been. Hop couldn’t blame his brother for being mad and Raihan was an idiot. But when it came to Gloria and Leon, he wasn’t intentionally an asshole. “I’m sure he feels awful. That doesn’t excuse him and you don’t have to be buddy-buddy with him anytime soon. But y’know he’d never hurt you on purpose,” He finally responded. “Punch and scream into your pillow. S’what I do sometimes. I’d say throw something, but you probably shouldn’t destroy anything while you’re at the inn…”

“Can’t destroy the hotel if I can’t find it!” Leon laughed softly, finding humor in his sense of direction despite the stress and anger he was feeling. “But thank you for the advice, Hop. I just need some time to think for a bit. I’ll be okay, though. I’m just... Raihan’s never pulled something like this before. It hurts more than anything…”

Hop nodded in understanding even though Lee couldn’t see it. “I get that. But I think things will be alright. Just go de-stress and give it a bit to die down.”

“I might go to the stadium. I can let off some steam through training, plus it helps to clear my head. Also, I can actually  _ find _ the stadium, so there’s that.” Leon could see the spires of the stadium in the distance, and he started making his way in that direction. 

With a laugh, Hop flopped back onto his bed, relaxed now that Leon seemed to be doing better after talking a bit. “Honestly, Lee. Don’t you ever look at the map on your phone?”

“Oh, plenty! It’s right useless, though!” Leon responded with a laugh. As he arrived at the stadium, his mind had a thought and decided to ask about it. “Are you going to come up to see her, too?”

Hop was quiet for a moment as he had conflicting thoughts. “... Maybe, I dunno.” On the one hand, he would love to see her! Maybe this time they could have a real conversation without getting thrown out on his ass and left in the dust again. But on the other hand, so much time has passed. From what Leon has told him, Gloria wasn’t the same as she was before. Would she even want to be his friend now? Or has she put their relationship in the past with everything else?

His older brother hummed curiously over the phone. “I think she’d want to see you. I know it didn’t go well last time, but I think it’ll be different this time. I believe it would be good for both of you to see each other and genuinely talk. I’m sure she’s missed you loads; you two were practically attached at the hip at one point!” Leon chuckled as he headed out to the pitch.

“I s’pose…” Hop mumbled in response, thinking back to how their friendship used to be. He remembered all of the times where he and Gloria would finish each other’s sentences or say something at the same time; it was like they shared a brain. It was rare to see one without the other, too. And even when Hop ran ahead to get the jump on his rival, he always waited for Gloria at the next town. His old memories made him smile softly. “Yeah, okay. I’ll come by tomorrow!”

“Good!” Leon exclaimed as he let his pokemon loose. “I’ll see you tomorrow then! Take care, Hop.”

“You, too, Mate!” 

~~~

The lot of them stared at each other quietly, unsure of what to do next. Marnie wasn’t as confused as the rest of them, however, as she huffed and made her way to the door. “Where ya goin’, Marn?” Her brother asked with a raised brow.

“Ta talk t’ ‘im. Think he needs that right now,” Marnie sighed and disappeared around the corner. “I’ll be back!” She called before leaving out the door, leaving Piers alone with Gloria and Raihan.

“Well, that coulda gone worse,” Piers sighed, glancing between the other two.

Gloria was silent as she had this thousand-yard stare going through the walls of Raihan’s home. She figured everyone needed a minute just to catch their breath and process what happened, mostly her, though. The poor girl was still a mess, even now that things were dying down. “It could have gone better, though…” She whispered in retort. Gloria glanced over at Raihan with an apologetic look. At least no one got physically hurt, so… silver lining? 

Catching the look in her eyes, Raihan spoke up before Gloria even had a chance to say sorry. “Don’t you dare, he would’ve been mad at me no matter what happened today.” He went over and gave her a gentle pat on the head. “I’d rather him be mad at me than you. I can handle it.”

“‘Sides, he won’t be mad long, anyways. That man can’t hold a grudge t’ save his life. He just needs some time, ‘s all,” Piers offered kindly. ”Ya know this isn’t your fault, ‘n’ he had a point. Raihan ‘n’ I were both in on this. We coulda told him or anyone else at any time, even if it was only t’ let ‘im know ya were okay, but we didn’t. That’s on us, so ya don’t need t’ carry this guilt alone, alright?” Piers knew how Gloria could get, and he wasn’t about to let the girl blame herself for something that wasn’t entirely her fault.

“Exactly, see? We chose to do this. He just needs a bit of time to cool off, so don’t worry so much,” Rai reminded casually as he gave the girl a reassuring smile. He didn’t mind being Leon’s scapegoat for a while; the champion’s temper wasn’t anything Raihan couldn’t handle.

Gloria shrugged unconvincingly. Logically, she knew they were right, and Leon would be okay eventually. Not all of it was entirely her fault. But her brain didn’t think logically very often, and she still couldn’t help but feel guilty for what happened. “Okay, I guess so…” 

Piers stepped over and wrapped an arm around Gloria for a comforting hug. She returned it, of course, because she really needed one at the moment. “Things’re gonna be okay. Leon seemed pretty pleased t’ see  _ you _ , at least.” Piers commented with a teasing lilt in his voice. 

When being teased, Gloria blushed and flicked the man’s forehead lightly. “Shut it!”

“Ow!” There was a gentle knock on the door before Marnie let herself back into the house. “Oh, welcome back, Marn. Were ya able t’ catch up with ‘im?” Piers wondered, and the girl under his arm perked up, as well. Gloria was also curious to know what happened. 

The mellow girl nodded. “Yup. He was on the way t’ the hotel when I left ‘im. He just needs some space, I think,” She responded. Then, Marnie eyed Raihan with a light glare. “I convinced ‘im t’ come back tomorrow, so don’t blow it.”

The dragon tamer put his hands up in defeat. “Okay! I guess I can behave myself…” 

Satisfied with that response, Marnie went over to her nervous friend. “How’re ya doin’? Any idea on what ya wanna do next?” She asked softly, rocking back and forth on her feet. 

“Yeah, I’m alright. At least it’s over now…” Gloria responded with a little shrug. In reality, she still wasn’t sure if she was actually alright. A lot was happening at once, and she might need to slow down just a bit. “I don’t even know. I was thinking of seeing him later like he asked, but I just… I don’t know.”

Piers went over to Raihan’s couch and collapsed onto it with a long sigh. “Fuck, I’m just glad that’s over. I’m bloody knackered…” Sprawling his body out across the couch, he took over the whole thing. 

Glancing over at a very relaxed looking Piers, Gloria smiled softly with a little glint of mischief in her eyes. “I couldn’t agree more,” She commented as she hopped over and flopped onto the man. “Look at me all nice and comfy...!” She giggled softly. 

“Ow, you fuckin’ cunt!” Piers cried out when the girl fell on top of him. He wore a smile, though, happy to hear her laugh for once. It’s been so long since Gloria has joked around with anyone like this. For so long, she’s been a husk of the energetic girl she once was; someone who used to be so full of life now barely even smiled. But seeing a glimpse of the old Gloria, it was hard for him not to grin just a bit. Maybe now that the worst of it was over, she could start to feel slightly better. “Get off me! You’re bloody heavy!” That didn’t mean he had to be openly happy about it, though.

“I am not! You’re just a weak little twig!” Gloria snorted and splayed her limbs out dramatically; lightly whacking Piers in the face. 

Marnie glanced between the two of them with a glint in her eyes. The girl didn’t smile, but her eyes showed nothing but mischievous glee. “My turn!” Joining Gloria in the torment of her brother, she threw herself on top of them both with a comfortable sigh. They deserved it, after all; this was karma for lying to her.

“BLIMEY, MAR!” Gloria yelped at the added weight, wheezing a bit as the air was knocked out of her. “Y-You’re gonna break a rib, woman…!” 

Piers screeched as he shoved at the girls. “Ya two’re heavier than a Snorlax, fuckin’ get OFF!” He tried to get them off of him, but with his weak little noodle arms, there was no way the girls were budging. Marnie smirked at her brother’s suffering, and Gloria only laughed uncontrollably. The poor man just couldn’t catch a break. 

Raihan looked at the three of them all stacked neatly on his couch and shrugged. Without a word, he rounded the couch and jumped over the back of it with ease; sitting cross-legged directly on top of Marnie and effectively asserting his dominance against the lot of them. “My couch is a lot fleshier than I remember…” He hummed while scratching his chin thoughtfully. 

Piers began to cough as he genuinely struggled to breathe at this point. “Mother fuckers get the fuck off before I DIE!!!” He cried, desperately trying to shove away the growing pile of bodies on him. Compared to the girls, Raihan was as heavy as Groudon.

Gloria was having trouble breathing, as well. It didn’t help that she used what little breath she had to just keep laughing. Maybe the stress of today has finally driven her crazy; who even knows anymore?

Marnie squeaked at the added weight, not expecting the dragon tamer to plop onto her. It was so fun being the one at the top of the pile, too bad that was now over. But if she couldn’t be king of the hill, no one could. She rolled enough to the side to dislodge Raihan and knock him to the floor. Marnie laughed as he fell but was cut off when his hold on her brought her down with him. 

They both landed on their arses, and Raihan chuckled as he playfully cursed Marnie out for booting him off. “You little bitch! That’s what you get for kicking me off my couch!” Marnie only crawled away and hid her laughter behind her hand. After huffing a bit, he scooted over beside Piers and Gloria’s head and pulled out his phone. How could he not take a picture at this moment? It was the perfect opportunity! Gloria was more than happy to smile for Rai’s photo, but the man she was laying on top of stared into the camera - dead inside. At least with two people off of him, he was able to breathe now. 

_ Snap! _

The moment the picture was taken, Gloria was promptly shoved and yeeted onto the floor on top of Raihan. Piers sat up so no else had a chance to enact revenge and flop on him again. “There, fuck the lot o’ ya,” he gasped.

“Hey! You love us!” Gloria giggled as she rolled off of Raihan. 

The dragon tamer recovered quickly and posted the picture. Then he got up and sat on the couch beside Piers, leaving Gloria and Marnie on the floor. “Yeah, you  _ love  _ us,” Rai teased, winking at the man playfully like the cocky little bitch he was.

“Careful what you wish for, Raihan,” Piers snorted, nudging the dragon trainer with his elbow and raising his eyebrows suggestively. Raihan only chuckled and kept his hands to himself; having self-restraint was hard. Then he turned to Gloria with humor dancing in his cold blue eyes. “I  _ tolerate _ the lot o’ ya; love is a very strong word.”

Crossing her legs and too lazy to get up, she giggled and poked Piers’s leg. “You know what, I will take what I can get.” 

He smiled down at the girl before turning to his sister. “Well, Marn, what are we doin’?” Piers wondered, which only earned him a shrug. They both glanced at Gloria questioningly. “Have we fulfilled our duties as moral support?”

The quiet girl smiled softly at the two and shook her head. “You can go home. I’m alright now, promise,” She replied, and it felt genuine. Gloria felt like she would be okay without them hovering now. Whether she decided to go see Leon or not, she truly did believe she could handle things on her own from this point. “Thank you for coming, both of you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“I’m glad you’re doin’ better now. Text me if ya need my help talkin’ to anyone else, or if ya just need help in general.” Piers smiled and reluctantly pulled himself from the couch. He was relieved Gloria wasn’t hiding anymore; she deserved to live her life without worrying so much about everything. He was even more relieved that he could go home and stop lying to his sister. He just hoped Marnie would forgive him with a bit of time. 

Gloria finally stood up and helped Marnie to her feet. The mellow gym leader leaned in and pulled her friend into a hug, which was lovingly returned. She was happy to know Gloria was doing better again. “Ugh, I’ve missed ya so much…” She murmured before pulling away. Marnie took Gloria’s phone and added herself as a new contact. “Here’s my new number. Please,  _ please _ text me whenever.” 

“I missed you, too. I swear we’ll talk soon, Mar.” Gloria took her phone back and tucked it into her pocket. Glancing over at Piers, she returned his smile and went to hug him, too. It was so rare to see the hardened man grin earnestly, and there was no way he was leaving without getting any affection from her. “You are one hell of a mate. Thank you again…”

Piers rolled his eyes but gave her a slight pat on the back regardless. “Yeah yeah, kid. You’re kinda cool, too, I guess.” He teased with a small quirk of his mouth. After saying their goodbyes, the two siblings took their leave and headed back to the train station together, 

Once Piers and Marnie were out of sight, Gloria let her smile fall a bit as she rubbed her face. “And then there were two,” Raihan mused with a chuckle from his spot on the couch. “So, what do you wanna do now? Gonna head back home?” He questioned casually. Whatever she decided to do, he would support her; even if it got him into more trouble. 

“No… Yes. I don’t know,” Gloria responded, confusing even herself. She simply shrugged and adjusted her baggy hoodie. “I was thinking about seeing Leon… That’s assuming he’s found his way to the inn, of course.”

The dragon leader chuckled, though it was just a little bitter. “Well, if you do end up going to see him, have fun but don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, okay? I’d say, ‘Tell him I said hi,’ but I doubt he’d appreciate that...”

“I’ll be fine. Hell, maybe I won’t even bother and just go home. It’s late, anyhow…” She murmured as she stared down at the floor. Then she glanced over to Raihan anxiously. “How are you, though? Will you be alright?” After everything that happened that evening, Gloria didn’t want to leave the man alone if he was upset. She didn’t even know what he could be thinking at that moment. 

Rising from the comfortable sofa, Rai went over and patted the girl on the head, ruffling her hair up a bit. “You kidding? You’re looking at the next champion of the Galar Region. I am more than alright!” He boasted with a smirk, winking at the girl slyly. “You go do your thing, mate. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

“Okay…” Gloria mumbled, unconvinced that Raihan was as okay as he insisted. Still, she decided to go with it and decided it was time for her to go. “Good night, then.” She reached up and wrapped her arms around her neck for a warm hug. “Thank you for all of your he-ELP!” 

Rai swept her up into his arms and spun her around playfully. It was hard not to tease Gloria like that when she was so tiny and he was so tall! “No need to thank me, love! Just take care of yourself and text me if anything comes up!” After a moment, Raihan set her back down and sighed. “Just… stay safe, please.”

“You, too.” She made no promises when she knew she probably couldn’t keep them. He only shrugged in response; it seemed Gloria wasn’t the only one who couldn’t make promises. 

She left the house silently, raising her hood and hiding her face in the shadows of her hair and clothing. Walking down the well-lit streets alone, Gloria calmly headed in the direction of her apartment building. It was probably best to just let everyone simmer down overnight and leave things alone until morning. Who knew how Leon was feeling or if he was even awake at that point? She didn’t want to take the chance of waking him up or pissing him off - not today when it’s already been so hard on him. 

But on the other hand, there were things she needed to say, and there were probably things  _ he _ had to say. Gloria wanted to talk to him and see how he was doing; she wanted to talk to someone she cared about and hadn't seen in forever. She needed this, even if she ended up going back to her dull, monotonous life after all of this.

Turning on her heel, Gloria backtracked until she ended up on the right path to the hotel. She felt fine for a while, but the closer she got, the more anxiety began to build up in her chest. It took hold of her nerves, and she started fidgeting a lot. He was probably asleep, anyway. It was late, and she should be heading home to do the same. The girl kept trying to talk herself out of it, but this was just something that she couldn’t let go. So when she finally arrived at the inn, she pulled out her phone and texted him. Gloria just hoped he still had the same phone number…

**Bumble Lee**

_ What’s your room number? _

_ 807 _

_ Okay omw up _

_ OK _

Gloria sighed in relief as she entered the inn and made her way to the elevator. He was awake and still willing to see her; plus, he still had the same phone number like she’d hoped. So far, things were going well, and it helped her relax a bit. She made sure to keep herself casual over text, but she was honestly a little desperate on the inside. Gloria was admittedly a little excited to sit down and actually talk to him again, even though her anxiety still lingered. Stepping into the lift and pressing the little eighth button, she clutched her phone in her hands and ignored the flip of her stomach as her surroundings started to move. 

The elevator came to a stop, and she stepped into the hallway when the doors opened. She wandered the corridor quietly as she fidgeted with her phone, inspecting the different room numbers as she passed by. Finally, a door with the 807 on it caught her attention, and she stopped in front of it. Despite whatever strange flutter in her chest and pit and her stomach she felt, Gloria stepped forward and gently knocked on the door. 

The response she received was almost immediate as his door swung open, and she was met with a grinning Leon. “Glory!” He exclaimed joyously, his golden eyes bright and attentive.

“Hi…!” She piped up quietly with just the tiniest smile. Though she wasn’t that great at expressing herself anymore, Gloria’s eyes lit up when she saw just how ecstatic he was to see her. 

Seeing the way the girl’s expression brightened when she saw him made Leon smile even wider if it was even possible. He took in her appearance, and though she seemed anxious, all he noticed was how beautiful she looked. The champion was hoping all night that she would come by just so he could see her again, and Arceus must have heard his plea. “I’m so glad you came! Would you like to come inside?” Leon wondered, hoping he didn’t sound too desperate. 

Looking at him, Gloria would have never guessed that he had been wallowing away in misery after he’d left. She wouldn’t have possibly known that he stayed up all night listening to the background noise of the telly while playing around on his phone because the thought of sleeping at all without seeing her was entirely out of the question. The girl would never have guessed that every time Gloria texted him, Leon’s heart would speed up until it felt like it would just give out at any moment. She would never know that he scurried around the room to quickly make himself as presentable as possible for her while Charizard laughed at his lovestruck antics. And she wouldn’t even know how Leon had to take a deep breath to calm down before opening the door because he needed so much self-restraint whenever Gloria was around to keep himself from doing something she may not want. There was no way in her mind that Leon would ever be a mess because of her. 

All she saw was the aftermath; the very handsome embodiment of perfection that stood in front of her. Leon had been through so much, but when she looked at him, she couldn’t see any of it. Leon seemed so… put together. He was chairman  _ and  _ champion of the region. That man could do it all while he smiled the entire time. He was everything she once strived to be; confident, charismatic, and a little over the top. It was the whole reason she gave her title back to Lee in the first place. No one could do it quite as well as he could. 

So when the embodiment of perfection is asking you to enter their hotel room, how do you refuse? Because Gloria certainly couldn’t. With a nod, she smiled softly and went through the door that was held open for her. “Of course…!”


	6. Chapter 6

The hotel room was warm and comforting. Gloria couldn’t put her finger on why, but Leon always knew how to make the inns homier. Perhaps it was just his sweet presence that did the job. If it wasn’t for him, the girl wouldn’t feel as comfortable being there. Hotels were always just so impersonal and bland, and she could see why the champion didn’t like them. But Lee made her smile, albeit small and almost unnoticeable. “I uh- I hope you’ve been well. We didn’t get much time to talk earlier, but I’m sure you’ve been busy…!”

Leon watched amusedly as she took in the room, secretly hoping it was only he who could hear the loud thumping of his heart. Gloria actually came to see him, and it was exciting. All he wanted to do was reach out and hold her closely like he had before. She was so gorgeous, and it was hard to keep himself under control. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off or worse - hurt her by accident. “Yeah, being champion and chairman is very demanding! It’s pretty exhausting to do both, in fact!” Leon laughed lightly, though there was a tired undertone beneath it all. He took a seat on the bed and leaned against the backboard as there wasn’t much else to sit on. Then he smiled at Gloria before patting the spot beside him. “But I have a bit of time to myself, which is why I came looking for you.”

Being encouraged to sit next to Leon made the girl want to do exactly that. It was hard not to when he smiled so kindly at her. Plopping down on the other side of the bed, Gloria mimicked him and pushed up against the backboard, as well. She was much smaller than him, of course, but it was cute to see her try to be like him. “Well, you seem to be handling yourself well. Though, you could’ve spent your free time a bit more productively…” She mumbled.

“I’d hardly say anything having to do with you is a waste of time! You’re here now, so I would say it was well worth it, wouldn’t you?” Leon smiled softly at her and very casually rested one of his arms behind her on the back of the bed. 

She didn’t agree with the statement, but Gloria didn’t have it in her to argue. “I-I guess…”

That was something Leon noticed about her; the former champion was less confident in herself and more nervous about the world around her. It was like everything she did was wrong in her eyes, even if that wasn’t the case. He hoped with a bit of care and some time, Gloria would drop that habit. “I’ve missed you so much!” He grinned a bit sadly at her. It’s been such a long time since Leon had seen her, and to have her here now was surreal. “How have you been? What have you been up to all this time?”

“I’ve been alright, I suppose. I’ve just sort of been hanging around here; not doing anything riveting…” Gloria stared down at her hands as she spoke quietly. “Just working, and not dying, and… yeah, that’s about it.”

Leon smiled softly at her despite how she described her current life. Leaning in slightly closer, he looked her in the eye. “Is that so? Have you still been battling at all?” 

Gloria shook her head hesitantly. “N-No, not really… Honestly, I don’t even carry my team around with me anymore. I’ve got Cinderace on me, but that’s more because I really can’t part with him.” The girl put out the little pokeball in her pocket and held it up to show Leon. When she realized he was staring at her with soft and interested eyes, Gloria immediately glanced away in an attempt to hide her blush. Dammit, now was  _ not _ the time for any previous silly crushes to be popping up. This was ridiculous...

The champion, however, noticed her blush and took this as a good sign. Taking things a step further, he shifted his arm so it now rested around her shoulders. Leon left it there to see if she would move it away or accept his actions. If she didn’t want to be touched, he would stop immediately. “I’m glad you kept him. I know you two were very close.” He glanced at the pokeball in her hands and smiled. It was nice to know she still had the first pokemon she’d ever received, especially since she got it from him. 

Biting back an embarrassed squeak, Gloria stared a little too intently at the ball in her hands as if nothing was happening at all. She didn’t pull away from him - why would she? Leon was so warm, and he was so careful with her. It felt nice sitting with him like this. “Y-Yeah, and you gave him to me. Thank you for that…”

“Do you miss it? I really miss battling with you,” Leon commented quietly. “No one else has ever come as close to being as exciting to battle with as you. Raihan tries, but it’s just not the same!” Leon laughed, thinking about all of his previous battles with the once-champion sitting next to him. 

“I do…” She admitted quietly, “I just… I haven’t been in the mood for a while now. Maybe one day, I’ll start from scratch or something. I’ve always wanted to raise a Wooloo, I suppose…”

Leon smiled softly and pulled Gloria closer to him with the arm around her shoulders. She nearly imploded at this but kept her mouth firmly shut; afraid she’d make any embarrassing sounds. “That sounds lovely, Gloria. I’m sure it wouldn’t take you long to get back to the level you were once competing at if you wanted to. Of course, you could just battle with me and the others in the stadium after hours if you don’t want to battle in the public eye.” Leon didn’t really care what his Glory did; he just really missed the smile she’d wear whenever she battled. It was like she was at her happiest when facing an opponent, and who could blame her? Like a proper champion should, her soul was set ablaze whenever she battled. He wanted to see that again. “I’m sure Cinderace would love to battle again, as well! I know he enjoyed it as much as you did,” Leon offered kindly, watching Gloria with gentle eyes. 

“Y-Yeah, that actually sounds fun…! I’m sure I’m rusty after all these years, but I wouldn’t mind battling against someone again.” The fire in her heart had been swiftly snuffed out long ago, but part of her secretly hoped someone would come along and help her rekindle it. Maybe that would be Leon. She could practically feel the excitement coming from the ball in her hands as she rubbed her thumb over it. “Battling in front of people again… I dunno. I-I’m not completely opposed to the idea of it, I guess. I was always fond of the general public, but journalists, news reporters, and other people with a pedestal to speak from… I dunno, it would just be weird coming back once word got around. The situation has died down, I’m sure, but still...” She shrugged lightly, glancing up to look at Leon only to quickly look away again with a bashful expression once she saw the huge grin on his face. “I-I don’t think I could ever trust myself to be champion again, though…”

After a while of keeping his arm on her shoulders, it was clear Gloria was more than okay with the close contact. So he kicked it up a few more notches and dropped it to be around her waist. The response he got was an interesting one as the girl pulled her legs a little closer to herself as her face pinked up even more. 

“Well, I’m happy to hear that! I’d love to battle you again whenever you think you’re up for it.” Leon replied happily, winking at her. Then he chuckled, though there was sadness just barely hidden below the surface. “I figured you wouldn’t want to be champion again. Though honestly, passing on the title to  _ anyone _ would be a relief at this point! It’s difficult doing two jobs. I don’t have much of a life outside of being the champion and chairman, and working so much is lonely business.” Leon sighed in resignation. “With fewer things on my plate, I could actually go visit Mum.”

She tried hard to listen intently, and tried to give decent advice, and tried being helpful, but it was hard when all Gloria could think about was how his arm was on her waist and she was pressed up against him. All she could do was sit there and stare at the little pokeball because if she looked at him again, who knows what would happen? “W-Well, why not give it to Raihan? He’s been after it for so long; I think he’s worthy…!” She joked. The girl wished she had it in her to take the title back herself, but she just couldn’t. Gloria wasn’t capable mentally, and she wasn’t physically strong enough anymore anyway. Not like she deserved to be the champion to begin with.

The beautiful blush on her face told Leon everything he needed to know. She was okay with this, even though she was extremely embarrassed. He was glad, though; Leon wasn’t too sure if he could stand being rejected by her at this point. “He’d have to beat me first! I’m still waiting for him to kick my arse like he’s constantly saying he will, and yet he never does. I won’t throw a match, either, you know me!” The champion answered brightly. 

“I-I suppose so. And I doubt he’d want to win because you forfeited…” She commented quietly. Finally, she worked up the nerve to glance up at him again only for her cheeks to flare up noticeably. Gloria had been so deliberately occupied with staring at Cinderace’s pokeball that she hadn’t realized how Leon leaned forward with a warm smile on his face, staring intently at her to try and look her in the eye. But now he was so close that she could feel his breath faintly on her face, and she knew there was no hiding her fiery blush. “You’re very close…” She whispered as if she wasn’t stating the obvious. 

Leon chuckled breathily, and she could feel it on her lips. “I suppose I am. Is this alright?” His voice was soft and smooth as he spoke, pulling out all the stops tonight. With how she blushed so darkly, it was hard for Leon to resist reaching over with his free hand and cupping her face with it. His golden eyes kept flicking down to Gloria’s lips as they looked so soft and inviting; parted slightly from being surprised by his closeness. The champion swallowed thickly, reminding himself to keep control.

“No. I-I mean- yeah, it’s- I- s’fine- I’m just- hnghhh…!” Gloria was quickly devolving into nonsense. Before she could make herself look any more of a fool, she hid behind her hands. “I am a disaster…!”

The man carefully peeled Gloria’s hands away from her face. “No, you’re not. Incredible is what you are.” He leaned in even closer to her, clearly intending to kiss her if she’d let him. “And I’ve missed you so very much…” Leon’s voice wasn’t much more than a husky and low whisper against her lips. 

Gloria was frozen in place as he very gently held her wrists away, though it wasn’t like she wanted to move away. So here she sat pressed up against Leon’s side; so tiny compared to him with her legs curled up and pulled to her chest. The size difference would have almost been comical if she wasn’t so caught up in what was currently happening. What  _ was _ happening? Did it even matter? Well, duh, of course it did. He was trying to kiss her!

Gloria exhaled softly, and their noses barely brushed together; nearly setting her heart aflame.

She stared at him in silence as she just completely gave up on trying to hide her tomato face. There was no point to, now. Her heart was so loud in her ears, and she was almost worried that he could hear it. She felt anxiety in her chest, but that took a back seat to whatever else it was she was feeling right now. Was this love? No, of course not. It was too soon, and they’d just barely reconnected. Or perhaps this was just fate. Fuck if she knew at this point. The only thing she could feel was the butterflies that filled her stomach. Now all Gloria needed to do was take that leap of faith. 

“Please…” She breathed desperately.

That was all Leon needed to close the distance, finally locking his lips with hers. He winded a hand back into her hair as the arm around her waist pulled even tighter around her. Leon could hardly believe this was happening; he was finally,  _ finally _ kissing the woman he’d been in love with for years. She was sitting here with him -  _ kissing _ him - and it sent him to cloud nine. He couldn’t hear anything over the roar of his heart pounding in his ears. It made him dizzy, or maybe that had something to do with Gloria’s soft lips against his own; she made his head spin.

The anxious girl was frozen stiff for a moment, eyes going wide as if she hadn’t expected him to kiss her. Of course, she  _ had _ been, but it just didn’t feel like how she thought it would. Gloria felt lightheaded, and her whole body tingled with excitement. It warmed the heart that had been under lock and key for years now. It completely shut her mind up; whatever insecurities and doubts she had about herself, Leon, or the rocky past all just faded into the background. All she could hear was white noise; not even the sound of her own heartbeat. Everything melted away just like Gloria did as she relaxed into his touch and let her eyes drift close, returning the kiss. 

With his hand tangled in her short hair, he deepened the kiss and gently ran his tongue along her lower lip to test where her boundaries were. Leon was shaking and his whole body felt too hot like fireworks were going off inside him; he hoped Gloria couldn’t tell. Being able to kiss her was better than he’d ever dreamed of. Now that this beautiful girl was in his arms, the champion had no intention of letting her slip away again.

Gloria didn’t move much as she was held, but she felt like bouncing off the walls. She wasn’t nearly as experienced as Leon was, and it showed in her hesitance. She felt extremely out of place, but it didn’t stop her from enjoying the moment. The champion slowed down a bit to avoid overwhelming her, but then she gripped Leon’s shirt and whined softly as his tongue slid against her mouth. That sweet sound did things to him, and now he really needed to stop before he scared her off. 

Leon pulled away to take a deep, shuddering breath and opened his eyes to see his beautiful Glory. The dark blush that covered her face brought a grin to his face; she looked so cute and even a little disappointed that he stopped. It was clear to her that he was holding back, but maybe that was for the best for now. Gloria breathed deeply and leaned her forehead against Leon’s, trying to catch her breath. She was on cloud nine and just so happy - what a rare feeling for her. Smiling softly at him, the girl sighed against his lips. “W-Well, that was interesting… B-But I mean- like, it’s-it’s a good kind of interesting…!” She mumbled awkwardly. 

Leon chuckled lightly. “Yes, though I would describe it much differently.” He ran his hand along her jaw, his thumb lightly tracing over her lips. Lee’s touch made her shudder just a bit. The man was nervous to ask how she felt about him; afraid of being rejected even after such a sweet kiss. “Glory, answer me honestly… How do you feel about me?” He asked boldly, praying she’d say what he wanted to hear. Leon has been so in love with her for years and wanted her more than anything, but he didn’t want to scare her off. If Gloria didn’t return his feelings, he’d slow down so as not to push her away. The last thing he wanted was for her to disappear again. 

She shrugged a little, unsure of how to answer without upsetting him. She wasn’t sure what she felt, but it made her lighter than air. “I dunno… I-I mean, I liked you before everything that happened - I’ve liked you for a while, actually…” She mumbled, memories of her teenage self crushing hard on the handsome champion. That was a long time ago, though. “And that’s not to say those feelings have changed. But I’ve changed…a lot. It’s just been a long time, and I’m not who I used to be, and I doubt you are, as well…” It probably wasn’t exactly what Leon was hoping for, but it was simply the truth. She gently took the hand that held her face and held it in her own palm; feeling and enjoying its warmth. “I want to try, though. I may not be, like, infatuated-”  _ Give me some time, and I just might be.  _ “-but I do like you, a lot. So I want to try.”

Leon nodded as she spoke, though there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes despite the smile he wore. “I understand. I suppose you’re right - we have changed… I don’t think I’m all that different, though. Some things never change, after all.” He laughed lightly, and it made her snort a bit, as well. Gloria may have been projecting onto him since she knew for a fact that she’s changed - and not particularly for the better. “I’m glad that you’re willing to try, though. Would you…perhaps let me take you out tomorrow?” He asked hopefully, the arm around her waist stroking Gloria’s back absentmindedly. Despite his disappointment in his feelings not being immediately returned, she brought up a good point that he hadn’t even thought of. It’d been years, and Gloria was surely a different person from who she once was. She still seemed so much like the old Gloria in his eyes, but her life and ideals were probably much different now, and he had to remind himself of that. And yet here she was, a completely new person and still willing to give it a try for him. Leon was relieved she at least felt strongly enough to give whatever this was a go. 

“Of course, that sounds like fun…!” She replied with a little nod. This would be good for both of them. One little date wouldn’t set anything in stone, but they’d both learn something, at the very least. Gloria would be able to start deciding on what she wanted from this and how far she wanted to take things with Leon, and in turn, Lee would get an idea of what she was like nowadays. There were things she enjoyed so far, like how he gently touched her along her back and waist. She also definitely liked the kissing part of things, even if there was a chance she was kind of awkward at it. Still, it was probably better to keep things slow before they got ahead of themselves and ruined whatever fragile relationship they had right now. Or maybe Gloria was the only thing fragile here. She might’ve been projecting again… “I may have to pick you up, though, or you’ll never find your way out of the inn.” She teased with a little grin tugging at her lips. 

Though it wasn’t much, that tiny smile on her face was everything. Leon was so infatuated with her, and he would be willing to do anything just to make Gloria smile. “It’s true, I’m still as hopeless as ever with directions!” He barked out a nervous laugh. “I would greatly appreciate you coming to get me. Charizard gets so tired of having to come to my rescue all the time, don’t you, my friend?” Leon turned to his large pokemon who was trying to get some rest in the corner. He laid on an extra blanket his trainer pulled from the closet, and he was almost asleep when Leon called to him. Charizard huffed humorously at the champion before closing his eyes and resting his head again. “Sorry, I’ll let you sleep.” He chuckled softly. 

“Aw, get some rest, buddy…!” Gloria cooed at the fire type across the room. She hadn’t even noticed him, he was so well-behaved. The girl has always had issues with Cinderace’s excitable nature, but she always hoped he’d mellow out with time.

Leon turned back to Gloria with a soft smile. His expression melted her heart, and she almost returned the grin. “With you at my side, how could I ever get lost?” His words meant more than they seemed at surface level with the tone he used, and his eyes were so full of the love he felt for the girl in his arms. He stared down at her, taking in her beauty as he leaned down intending to kiss her once more. 

“I’m sure you’ll still find a way…” She teased quietly. Even though Leon was trying to be romantic, she still couldn’t help but get one last joke as she also leaned in closer. Just one more kiss for the road. 

Leon chuckled before sealing the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and pulling the girl tightly into him. He took a moment to just memorize how she felt right here in his embrace. He had no idea if their date would go well tomorrow, and on the off chance things went horribly, Leon just wanted to remember having her so close and enjoying her presence. Even though they were literally kissing right in that moment, the champion still felt insecure and scared of losing her. She was so small against him, and the sounds she made as he kissed her were intoxicating. Her lips were so soft and sweet, as well… 

Gloria was lost in the moment as he pulled her in. Her teenage self had emerged for a moment just to squeal with joy in her head. She was just so happy, and it had been such a long time since she’d done anything fun for herself. Sure, she hung out with Piers and Raihan whenever they weren’t busy, but it wasn’t as often nor as fun as this. Kissing Leon was almost exhilarating. The girl clung to his shirt, enjoying the feeling of his body against hers. He was warm; was he always this warm? Gloria couldn’t recall, but she’s never had him so close before. She liked it though. A lot.

Leon was eventually forced to pull away, the need for air overpowering his want to keep kissing the girl. He’d happily snog with her all night if she’d let him, but both of them really needed sleep for tomorrow. He ran a hand through her hair as he pulled back, though he didn’t go very far. Opening his eyes, he took in Gloria’s beautiful brown ones as they blinked open to stare back at him. “You are so beautiful…” He sighed wistfully, not at all realizing he’d said it out loud. He was just completely gone for this girl - had been since the day he gave her that very pokemon she still carried with her. 

She wasn’t expecting to hear Leon say such words. There was a time when she knew she was cute - pretty, even. But beautiful? And that coming from Leon? Arceus, she thought she was done burning up. “I- you- shh…!” Words failed her, and she could only shush him in innocent embarrassment.

Leon smiled and laughed when he realized he’d spoken aloud. “It’s true, though! You are just the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” He secretly wanted to see just how red Gloria could turn from his words after seeing her turn such a delightful shade of it at being called beautiful. Her reaction was everything to him, and he ate up every little adorable detail. Leon traced the side of her face with his fingers as he wound a hand up to hold her head.

Gloria tried hiding behind her hands, knowing she looked like a strawberry by now. The way Lee stared at her, as well, only made her blush more. This man was absolutely impossible. She couldn’t think clearly when he kept saying things like that! And his touch was so soft; her skin almost tingled under his fingers. “Well, u-uh- you are also beautiful-  _ handsome!” _ She quickly corrected herself. “Y-You’re very, um… h-handsome…!” Gloria laughed nervously behind her hands,  _ shut up before you make yourself like an idiot!  _ “Wow, I have no game…”

Leon laughed at her embarrassed sputtering. “Not at all, Glory. I find you incredibly endearing. Don’t sell yourself short like that.” He smiled softly at her as he lectured her a bit. 

She stared up at him, not wanting or daring to look away. Gloria was still a fumbling mess whenever she tried to speak. The poor disastrous girl just couldn’t catch a break. “I-I… okay.” All she could do in that moment was agree with a nervous little shrug.

His hand continued tracing the side of her face absentmindedly, staring back into her eyes. Gloria couldn’t help but lean into his touch the longer his hand lingered on her cheek. “I can’t wait to take you out tomorrow. Now I just have to think of something incredible for you. You deserve it.” Leon winked at her playfully with a chuckle. She was such a cutie with the way she blushed and tripped over her words. Leon couldn’t be happier; this was truly the most joy he’d felt in years. The champion was so very in love, and it didn’t matter to him that she may have changed. She was still his Glory regardless; she was still the girl who beat him at his own game and stole his heart in the process. 

“If you say so… But I can’t wait either.” Despite her soft voice and distinct lack of a big, bright smile, Gloria was thrilled. How could she forget just how happy Leon made her feel before she disappeared? You’d think it would be a difficult emotion to forget, but she had. How he could be so adoring for someone who left him, she had no clue. But the girl was just glad he hadn’t given up on her.

Leon pressed his lips softly to Gloria’s cheek in a chaste kiss before pulling back with a smile. From further away, he could see just how surprised she was by the sudden affection, not that she minded at all. A hand trailed through her hair as he pulled her closer, wrapping himself around the girl and cradling her into his chest. “Thank you for coming back to me…” He whispered into her hair, wanting to hold her here for just a moment.

At this rate, Gloria was never going home. Leon was making it extremely difficult to want to leave as she was eating up all of this attention. If she was honest, the girl was a bit touch-starved, and having Lee hold her like this was nice. “Thank  _ you _ for not writing me off as a lost cause...” She mumbled against his chest. 

“I could never!” Leon gasped as he looked down at her with surprise. He couldn't forget about someone like her; she was too amazing. For a while, Gloria was even presumed dead, which was heartbreaking. But he had searched for her this entire time, determined to either find the love of his life, or… something else. But here she was, alive and well in Leon’s arms. Now that Gloria was safe right here, he didn’t want to let go; the champion was glad she let him hold her without hesitation because it would be difficult for him to pull away. “I don’t know if Raihan’s ever told you, but I’ve been looking for you this whole time. I could never just write you off like that. I’ve missed you so much, Glory.” Leon buried his face in her short hair and held her closer. Gloria was so precious to him, and he’d give anything to keep her with him forever.

Gloria sighed and let herself be embraced. Considering how long Gloria was missing for, she expected people to just forget she even existed. To know that Leon still thought of her as someone worth looking for was nice. Though, she didn’t see herself as such. “Uh… He did. Don’t be mad at Rai, he was very convincing; tried to get me to talk to you all the time… I’m just stubborn. Sorry...” She muttered guiltily. Raihan didn’t do anything wrong; it was her fault for not wanting to make any more of a mess.

Leon carded a hand through Gloria’s hair in an attempt to comfort the sweet girl. He could only assume how terrified she was the entire time she was on her own. “I don’t know what I ever did to make you so afraid of reaching out, but I’m glad you came and talked to me today. You don’t have to be scared, alright? We’ve all just missed you - Hop especially.” Leon kept her close as he spoke softly, rubbing her arm comfortingly. 

Gloria shrugged lightly in his hold, avoiding Leon’s gaze. “It wasn’t your fault. I think-... I think what happened just sort of threw things into a different perspective. Hop got hurt, and everything became terrifying… It still is sometimes. But that had nothing to do with you.”

“Glory…” He stared down at her with sad eyes. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore, okay? I’m here now, and I’ll protect you.” Leon held her tightly against his chest, truly just wanting to keep her safe more than anything. “Hop really has missed his best friend. I don’t know if you’re up for it, but I know he’d love to see you again.”

“Okay…” Even though the fact Lee would protect her was already a given, hearing it aloud always made her relieved. Still, not being afraid was easier said than done, but she would at least try. “I’ve really missed the little Yamper, too… I saw him the other day and just panicked. Hope he’s doing alright…”

“Well, if it’s okay, he said he was going to come up to Hammerlocke tomorrow,” Leon warned her about Hop’s arrival so she didn’t freak out when it happened. He didn’t want to put Gloria in a situation she wasn’t ready for. Now he was beginning to see how Raihan was able to so easily lie about Gloria’s whereabouts, and the champion realized he’d do the same thing in a heartbeat. It was hard not to when protecting the girl was instinct for all of them - not just Leon.

She tensed up in his arms, suddenly anxious now that she knew Hop would actually be coming to see her tomorrow. “Oh… O-Okay.” Gloria responded, trying to keep herself from panicking. “Th-Think he’ll challenge me to a battle…?” She asked mostly to change the subject and distract herself. Hop probably would, though. If only she wasn’t so out of practice.

“I don’t know, he just might!” Leon laughed with a shake of his head. “It’d be very like him, wouldn’t it? You don’t have to worry, though. He’ll just be happy you’re back, I’m sure.” He wasn’t actually as certain as he claimed, but the champion just wanted to comfort Gloria. Leon wanted them to be in the same room for longer than five minutes so they had a chance to repair their friendship. “He’s been more worried than I have, which is really saying something!”

She knew his last comment was supposed to be taken more lightly, but Gloria still couldn’t help but feel bad. “Poor thing…” The girl was still a worrying mess now that she knew he was coming up to see her tomorrow. The last time she saw Hop, he wouldn’t stop talking. Arceus, all the questions… He wouldn’t chill for even a second. And when she finally told him to “wait” outside for her, he looked like Gloria just kicked his Dubwool. Hop was just an excitable little Pokemon - so sweet and energetic. He was the only person on this planet who knew Gloria inside and out - even when she didn’t know herself. She missed it more than anything, but she was still extremely concerned. What if he was furious and yelled at her for running away again?

As if reading her thoughts, Leon spoke up again with a light voice to keep things upbeat. “I think he’s still a little peeved you ditched him outside your store and took off. You might have to apologize for that one!” He chuckled.

“Yeah…” She forced a nervous giggle, but the girl was getting more anxious. It was very rare to see Hop angry, but he was scary whenever he was; she didn’t want to be on the wrong end of it. Still, she couldn’t blame him for getting mad about that; she couldn’t blame him for anything in general, really…

“Your day tomorrow is turning into quite the busy one.” Leon mused with a soft smile. He was nervous that he was overwhelming the girl with too much at once, but she seemed okay for the time being. 

She returned the grin a little before yawning quietly. “I like the idea of a busy day… It’s pretty boring around here; for me, at least.” It’s been a while since Gloria has done anything that didn’t involve the same routine day in and day out. Tomorrow would be something new, and she was both nervous and excited. 

“... As much as I want to keep you here with me all night, you should probably go home and get some sleep.” Leon looked away sadly, his face falling even as he made the suggestion. The champion didn’t want her to go - not yet, anyway. He just wanted to sit here with her in his arms a little longer, enjoy her warmth a little more. He missed her presence so much even if she wasn’t the same. Her smile wasn’t nearly as bright, and he hadn’t even heard her laugh yet. But if he squinted just hard enough, Leon could see bits of the old Gloria under the surface. Though she’d changed, he’d show her that he loved her regardless. 

Gloria sighed in resignation and pulled away from his embrace. “I guess so…” She mumbled, almost whining. She didn’t want to leave yet - perhaps not ever. She knew she’d have to go home eventually, but it just felt like too much work. Showering, doing her hair, picking out a nice outfit- FUCK! Did she even have anything nice to wear? It’d been so long since she’d left the house for anything a little more formal! Dammit, questions for later!

Leon perked up when he heard the disappointment in her voice. “Do you… want to stay a bit longer?” He asked hopefully. A hand slipped under her jaw, tilting her head up gently so he could look into her eyes. “I’m not quite ready to let go yet…” He admitted quietly. It was a little embarrassing how much of a sap he was because of Gloria, but Leon couldn’t help it. He’d been wanting Gloria like this for _years_. All he’d ever dreamed of was for her to be his, and though nothing was set in stone right now, he was still beyond overjoyed. He never thought he had a chance, but right now everything was perfect - _she_ was perfect. All Leon wanted now was to keep her right here, safe and sound with him. 

Was he kidding? He was kidding, right? Of  _ course _ she wanted to stay! Though it wasn’t completely obvious in her voice or expressions, Gloria was feeling better than she had in a very long time. She wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as she could, and she didn’t know how long her rare happiness would linger after she went home. The girl just wanted to ride this high until her face was permanently red. “I-... y-yeah, a little…” She murmured with embarrassment, glancing away from his adoring gaze. 

Leon beamed at her response, hardly able to believe it. “Then stay as long as you like!” He was beyond thrilled knowing that Gloria wanted to stay and spend the rest of the night in his arms. The two of them had so much to catch up on, as well! 

The girl tried not to show her excitement, but her eyes noticeably lit up in response. “Okay…!” Gloria was happy to stay, whether it was for the whole night or not. She still had to make herself look nice and pick out an outfit, but that could all wait until tomorrow morning. 

“So, you mentioned things are pretty boring for you. Do you do much else besides work?” Leon asked as his fingers trailed patterns up and down her back, rubbing it slowly. He was very interested to learn more, and this was a great opportunity for him to find out more about what his precious Glory had been up to after all this time.

She shrugged lightly, murmuring her response. “No, not really… I’d hang out with Piers and Raihan whenever they weren’t busy. Other than that, I’d just… draw or write… or sleep. I don’t even know; it all blurs together at this point. Time has no meaning when you do nothing and go nowhere.” It was meant to be a joke, but the words on her tongue were somewhat bitter. She simply didn’t have the motivation to do or care about anything.

“Good thing you have the Champion to keep you entertained now, huh?” Leon laughed. “Would you like to stay the night…? I know there’s only one bed, but I won’t do anything, of course. I just want to make sure you have a champion time.” He promised with a wink. The man secretly hoped he wasn’t too forward with his offer; the last thing Leon wanted was to scare Gloria off. He wasn’t expecting anything tonight, anyway. Just cuddling and falling asleep next to her was more than he could ever ask for. And based on her subtle joy and the way she let him hold her, the champion was pretty sure she wouldn’t be too offended. Maybe she’d even say yes!

She swooned on the inside at his silly catchphrase before sinking into the bed and looking all sorts of comfy. Gloria’s heart was so warm and fuzzy, and the only word that came to mind when she tried to explain how she felt was “cherished”. It was as though she had been walking in the dark for the longest time, and all it took was one evening with Leon for her to feel even a little better. Nobody turned the lights on for her or that she’d found the switch on her own, but more like Lee handed her a torch so she could navigate a little easier. With the champion, she wasn’t even close to perfect, but at least she’d be okay. 

Leon laughed and sank down beside her. “Well, I’m really glad to see that!” He intertwined their hands and stared into her soft eyes. His heart wouldn’t slow down for even a moment, unable to believe Gloria was really lying here beside him and ready to spend the night with him. It’d been so long; he felt beyond blessed to have this beautiful, amazing girl of his dreams right here. Leon had never dared to hope for something as good as this, thinking it was impossible. To hold the impossible in your arms… The idea made it difficult to breathe around his erratic heart. 

She glanced back at him with a bashful smile, the feeling of happiness tingling throughout her whole body. “So what has the almighty Champion of Galar been up to recently?” Gloria wondered curiously. 

The man laughed, though it was bitterly caught in his throat. “What  _ hasn’t _ the champion been up to these days? There’s always so much PR work to do and places to be… I’ve just barely finished planning out and getting everything ready for the upcoming tournament plus the gym challenge. I still have to sneak in some battling and training, as well. It’s a lot… It would be really nice to have someone else as champion so I can take some of the pressure off of me.” Leon was smiling as he ranted, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m always so drained. I miss just being the champion… I miss having free time…” He trailed off, growing quiet as he caught Gloria’s sad gaze.

“I’m sorry…” She muttered guiltily, her gaze falling as she squeezed his hand.

As the previous champion, she knew just as well as he did about how draining being in the spotlight could be. The girl didn’t even have to worry about being chairman on top of everything else, either, yet she was also tired after a day of being the superhuman of Galar. Gloria enjoyed taking pictures with people and signing autographs. It felt weird to be idolized like that, but seeing other people happy because of her always put a smile on the girl’s face. But besides that, it felt like a nightmare. People constantly depended on her to do any and everything. Whether it be something completely mundane or utterly terrifying, Gloria was called to take care of it. And while younger trainers and children idolized her, some people despised her existence solely because she dethroned Leon fair and square. Oh, and the media! Those vultures were too much for her - enough said. Now Gloria felt horrible for pawning her title back off to Leon; she thought he could handle it. The man was perfect, and he could do anything… or so she assumed. If she thought she could handle it, Gloria would ask for the title back in a heartbeat if only so it wasn’t hard on Lee. But she didn’t have the power to do that; and even if she could, the girl knew she wasn’t ready for that kind of pressure again. And it would only get worse once the story started circulating the news. An ex-champion who fell from grace regaining the title after someone nearly died under her watch? She could already see the headlines.

Leon squeezed back and shook his head. “No,  _ I’m  _ sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I either need to get worse, or Raihan and Hop need to really step it up and finally beat me. I’ll be okay until then, though; I’ve done well enough all these years, what’s one or two more?” He grinned at her, leaning closer and resting his forehead against Gloria’s. “I promise I’ll survive. I’m just glad to have a few days off that I can spend with you. I’m sure this will be just the thing I need to go back to work with a smile on my face; I can feel it!” He cradled her in his arms comfortingly with a soft grin. As much as Leon would love for her to be champion again - hell, even to have matches against each other like they used to - Leon knew that was asking a lot of the poor girl. If he could so much as have the occasional informal battle against her, that would be a miracle in his eyes. The media tore her apart last time, and her self esteem couldn’t take another hit like that. 

Gloria was unable to believe that he’d be okay. Leon was a strong individual, but even he had his limits. He didn’t deserve so much on his shoulders, and the duties on his plate were her fault. Maybe one day in the distant future, she would be strong enough mentally to take on the title again only for his sake - she hoped so. Being champion was actually kind of fun and had its perks at times... Gloria just wished reporters and the like would learn when to piss off. “Still, you should set more time aside for yourself - as much as you can. You’ll drive yourself mad like this…” She mumbled with concern, snuggling up to him hesitantly. 

“I truly wish I could, Glory. I hate working all the time. The things I enjoy doing I simply don’t have the time for anymore. I miss being able to go out with my friends, play video games with Hop, go out camping-” He trailed off, realizing quickly that was a bad topic of conversation. Leon pulled the girl closer when she embraced his affection, enjoying her warmth. “Thank you for letting me vent to you about it,” he whispered, “Though I’m sure you’d like to talk about something more pleasant!” Leon hated to make her feel like this was somehow her fault when the chain of events could honestly be led right back to himself. “I love what I do to an extent. A lot of it is great, but it can be too much sometimes. Oleana takes on a lot of the chairman duties I don’t get to in time. I don’t know what I’d do without that woman!” Leon sighed softly, playing with Gloria’s dark hair. 

Her eyes fluttered shut as she let Lee hold her close and run his fingers through her hair. Gloria couldn’t help but smile at the mention of Oleana. There was a time when Gloria was terrified of the woman; she was so stern and monotonous in front of her and Hop. But once she became champion and Leon chairman, the woman wasn’t nearly as cold as she first assumed. Now Gloria thought of her as a mother figure; Oleana was so protective and loving of her and Bede more than anything, though she was still very stern with everyone else. It was almost playful more times than not, though. She really did open up once Rose was out of the picture. She was an amazing woman, and she could only wonder how Oleana was taking her disappearance. “Well, you can vent whenever you need to. Don’t let my stupidly emotional self stop you.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that; that’s someone I care a great deal about that you’re insulting.” Leon gave her saddened gaze, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. “You’ve had a rough time with things in the last few years. Please don’t beat yourself up so hard over the way you feel. Though, I’d much rather if you weren’t so guilty. It’s okay, I swear.” Leon caressed her face before giving her a soft but chaste kiss. “It’s so nice to be with you again, Glory, and it’s not just because I find you quite adorable.” He winked, before laughing softly. His antics made her blush, and Leon noticed immediately. It was true, though, and he meant it from the bottom of his heart. He honestly wanted to stay up and talk with her all night, but today had been emotionally draining. Plus, sleep was beginning to loom over them both.

It was really unfair how Leon could get away with saying such sweet words and leave her completely speechless. Gloria didn’t even bother trying to hide the tint of red adorning her cheeks. She could only smile with a shake of her head. “I’ve missed you so much…” She mumbled. Reaching up to give him a light kiss on the forehead, the girl resigned to curling up beside Leon and stealing his warmth. Fatigue consumed her as she finally settled down for the night. “Now get some rest, you dork. You sound half asleep as it is…” Gloria yawned, sounding more tired than the champion. 

“Yes, I suppose I am. It’s been quite the day.” Leon chuckled sleepily as he tugged the covers over them. He reached past her to turn the light off before wrapping his arms around Gloria and pulling her tightly into his chest. “I’m so glad I’ve found you, my Glory~.” Leon kissed her once more when darkness enveloped them, though it was a bit sloppy due to being drowsy. 

She returned his messy kiss, blushing when Leon called her his. She was too tired to process it properly, though, and decided it was definitely bedtime. “G’night, Lee…” Gloria whispered incoherently as she let her eyes close. She was warm and comfortable as sleep took hold. For the first time in years, the girl slept soundly in the safety of the man’s arms. 

Leon gazed through the darkness as Gloria melted into her subconscious with a soft smile. She was an angel even when she was asleep. Brushing some stray strands of hair out of her peaceful face, the champion sighed wistfully at the gorgeous perfection that slept beside him. “Good night, my Glory…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feeling that mad covid depression, sorry it's taken so long to update this.

The sun rose slowly over the horizon, shining past the morning fog and into the hotel room. Gloria was the first to wake up as she groggily opened her eyes to see the peaceful champion across from her. She was still very much entangled in Leon’s arms, as well as the fluffy blankets. The girl was so cozy, but she also knew she probably looked, smelled, and tasted like ass. Gloria didn’t want to get up, but she needed to go home and make herself presentable for today. She forgot what it felt like to actually do things with her life. Bleh, productivity…

She felt sluggish, but even in her sleepy state, she noticed golden eyes staring back at her. Leon’s loving gaze caused her to blush. 

“Morning, Glory…” He murmured with a smile, leaning forward to steal a chaste kiss from her lips. What an amazing way to wake up; the first thing he got to see was Gloria’s beautiful eyes on him with her face tinted a bashful red. She was perfect and absolutely gorgeous even this early in the morning, and nothing could dim such beauty in his eyes. 

Gloria hummed softly, pleasantly surprised at the kiss. She returned it sweetly, though, with a small grin. “Well, good morning to you, too…!” She giggled lightly. The girl really did like the nickname Leon called her. 

The champion sighed as he ran a hand gently along the side of her face, just watching her with a smile. “I can’t believe it was all real… It wasn’t just a dream…” Leon looked and sounded completely mesmerized by the girl in front of him as he stared into her eyes with an adoring daze. 

“Yes, it was…” She giggled at his sweet words. Gloria leaned forward and nuzzled her forehead against his own lovingly. Then the girl sat up and stretched out her limbs with a yawn. “How did you sleep?”

Leon grinned, sitting up, as well. “Better than I have in quite a long time.” He confessed, wrapping his arms around Gloria and pulling her into him. “What about you?” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head while holding Gloria by her waist. 

The girl yelped and laughed in surprise when Leon dragged her into his chest, though she certainly wasn’t complaining. “I can agree with that.” Her tone was humorous, but it was true. Gloria hasn’t been able to sleep well in a while. Even though she didn’t often have nightmares anymore, it was still hard to fall asleep. But last night, she felt safe and secure. The girl slept like a log with the champion beside her. 

Leon chuckled softly and sat there with her in his arms, content. “Mmm… We should probably get up if we want to go on that date,” He mused, but he made absolutely no effort to do so. He was quite comfortable right here with the love of his life in his arms.

She got a bit embarrassed by the word ‘date’, but it still made her smile. She was going on a _date._ What a weird sentence. It made her strangely happy. “Well, I was nearly there until you grabbed me, you little bugger…!” She giggled. “I probably look a mess right now, don’t I?”

Leon shook his head without hesitation. “You look beautiful,” he corrected with a light frown, and all it did was earn him a playful eye-roll. He hated the way Gloria put herself down like that. It wasn’t something she’d ever done before all of this happened. The girl used to be so confident, and all Leon wanted to do was get rid of whatever awful demons plagued her thoughts. She was worth value, and she needed to know that. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. You are absolutely beautiful and wonderful. Even if you can’t see it right now, I’ll make sure you do one day. I’ll show you what I see when I look at you.” 

It was hard for her to really hear him when all she could hear was how imperfect she was. Especially now, Gloria simply felt broken - a shell of who she used to be. Being called such sweet things when it wasn’t true almost hurt. Of course, Leon made it hard to hurt when he leaned in and stole a kiss from her. His arm was firmly wrapped around her waist while the other was entangled in her hair. All of her thoughts of inadequacy faded into the background as she blinked in surprise. The champion rolled his lips against hers and made sure the girl was thoroughly distracted as she melted into his touch. 

With a satisfied sigh, Leon pulled away and ran the pad of his thumb along her sweet lips. “You are so very beautiful…” He hummed, staring deeply into her eyes. 

Her mind was still stuck in the clouds even after he stopped kissing her, and that made it hard to focus. All Gloria could really do was sputter anxious before sort of just nodding her head. “I-I- um- y-yeah if you s-say so…!” 

Leon grinned, right pleased with himself for the work he’d done on poor Gloria. She was a blushing mess, and it was hard not to be a little proud of turning her into putty like that. Her response could have been better, but at least she wasn’t arguing with what he said. The man got up and pulled Gloria with him as he did before lifting her into his arms. “Now then! Shall we start getting ready for the day?” He wondered, winking at her as he left a kiss on her nose. Leon was pushing his luck at this point - he knew that. But he couldn’t help it! The champion was really enjoying how he was able to do this sort of thing with the girl of his dreams. 

She wasn’t even that surprised, either, though his actions did make her blush further. Even as a fully grown adult, Gloria was much smaller than Leon. She assumed this would be the most growing she’d do and it was all downhill from here. It was only a matter of time before he started carrying her everywhere they went. “Fine. You’re a little brat, y’know.” Gloria huffed, though she still adorned a light smile. 

“A brat? You dare call your beloved champion a _brat?”_ He accused with a boisterous laugh as he threw her over his shoulder. “I’ll show you a brat, then!” 

“LEON!!!” She screamed as she was suddenly flipped and staring at the ground behind him. Gloria clutched the back of his shirt, afraid of falling even if she knew he wouldn’t drop her. The champion marched all around the hotel room with the small girl hanging off his shoulder. She was stuck right there, clinging to him desperately. Leon found it extremely fun to torment her a bit after everything she’d put him through. A little retribution was good. “You’re only further proving my point!!!” Gloria exclaimed, trying to see him over her own shoulder. “Ch-Charizard! Help a mate out please!” She hopefully called over to the fire type in the corner, assuming he’d be her savior from such adorable torment.

The pokemon looked up from his comfortable spot and watched the two of them with amusement in his eyes before going back to rest his head. It was better to just stay out of it. His partner’s response only made Leon laugh harder. “Even he thinks you deserve it!” 

“Traitor!!” She glared playfully at the passive Charizard. Despite not wanting to fall, Gloria still couldn’t help but laugh along. The situation was pretty funny, after all. “I deserve none of this, how dare both of you!” 

Leon marched right into the bathroom and pulled the girl down from his arm, sitting her down on the counter. He trapped her there with an arm on either side of her and leaned in closely. The closer he got to her face, the more Gloria blushed and backed up until she had no room to move. “Still think I’m a brat?” He asked with a teasing quirk of his eyebrows.

Gloria tried to stand her ground; it wasn’t like she had an alternative escape route. There was a furious wildfire on her cheeks that was taking over her entire face, but she did her best. With a huff, she furrowed her brow and crossed arms with a curt nod. “Yes!” 

Leon grinned, satisfied with her attempt at putting up a fight before diving in for another kiss. He had one hand still at her side on the counter, while the other moved to gently hold her face. The girl’s angry front quickly melted away when their lips connected. He was having far too much fun teasing her, and she made it so easy! Gloria was very responsive and easily flustered; it only further proved to him that this was okay with her. Leon was so grateful that all those years of searching and waiting paid off. He truly couldn’t be happier than right now with his Glory. 

When he pulled away just as they started getting more passionate, she was left almost wanting more. Gloria couldn’t help herself; it was like fireworks going off in her head every time they kissed. The world around her lit up ever so slightly, and she wanted to feel like that all the time.

“As much as I want to kiss you all day, my things are still at Raihan’s when I left in such a hurry. I’ll have to head over there and grab them in order to get ready. Knowing me, that could take quite a long time, especially if I get lost!” Leon laughed, though there was a sadness in his eyes. He didn’t feel quite ready to see Raihan yet. While his best friend was probably ready to be all apologies, Leon wasn’t in the mood to hear them at the moment. The champion was still hurt even if he understood why Raihan lied the way he did. He knew he’d have to forgive the dragon tamer eventually, and he absolutely wanted to! They were best mates, and Leon didn’t want that to change. He just felt the need to wallow in this painful feeling - this betrayal - as he felt as though he deserved it after all these years.

“Well, I’ll walk you to Rai’s and head home to get dressed, and all that. Then, I’ll come get you when I’m done!” She smiled lightly and rubbed his face in an attempt to cheer up Leon. His relationship with Rai was a bit rocky at the moment, but Gloria hoped everything would work out. “I’d let you come get _me_ , but that may never happen if you’re alone!” She teased. 

Leon smiled back at her. “Who knows if I’ll make it to Raihan’s even with your help!” He joined in on teasing himself with a laugh. Then the man sighed and held her gently. “I’m going to miss you. I don’t want to leave your side for even a moment…” His heart ached at the idea of leaving and not seeing her for a while. He had it so bad for Gloria; he was just absolutely gone for this girl. Leon buried his head into her shoulder as he clung to her. “Promise you’ll come back... Please, _please_ don’t leave me…” His voice cracked and sounded so broken. In that moment he was genuinely fearful that Gloria might just skip town and go back into hiding. 

The girl returned his anxious embrace, holding Leon closely with a sigh. Gloria couldn't blame him for being so worried about her; she was apparently very skilled at dropping off the face of the earth. She wouldn't do it again, though - not like she could really afford to at this point. Her mental health couldn't take another hit like that. Besides, why would she want to go anywhere when Leon was right here? "I'm not going anywhere, swear it. You don't have to worry about me so much..." She murmured against his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. Gloria never meant to hurt him like this - she never meant to hurt anyone. If she'd known how her actions would've torn Lee apart, the girl might have grinned and bared it just for him. Leon deserved only the best, and she would have destroyed her emotional well-being for him just so she wouldn't leave; in hindsight, maybe that's what she should've done.

Leon swallowed thickly. "I'll try my best not to, then." He replied with a lace of uncertainty in his voice. He would always worry about Gloria, and that would never change. He stayed right there in her arms for a while longer, just enjoying her presence and the comfort it brought him. After a moment, though, he sighed and pulled away from her, revealing a slight frown. His eyebrows were etched with concern for the small girl in front of him, but he said nothing. "Shall we get going?"

Gloria scrunched her nose a bit when she still saw the anxiety written all over Lee's face. She reached up and took his face in her hands carefully. "Don't give me that look. It's not very fitting for a champion, is it?" She questioned lightly before reaching up and kissing Leon on the forehead. All she wanted to do was make him feel better. "We can't have a date if I'm not there, so why would I just up and leave?" It was true; today was supposed to be a good day for both of them. Gloria was really looking forward to their day together, and she wouldn't miss it for the world. "I'm right here, see?"

Leon nodded finally and smiled at the sweet girl. "Alright, I'll trust you, Glory. We should go now, or we may never leave this spot!" He laughed as he helped Gloria down from the counter. 

She hopped down with a little grin. "Yep...!" She let him tug them out of the bathroom and grabbed her things. 

Leon was feeling slightly more assured that she wouldn't leave him, so Leon figured he could let her go get ready without constantly fretting about her whereabouts. He would miss her the entire time as he was extremely attached to her, and the worry wouldn't leave him for even a moment, but he had more confidence in her now. Raihan could just get ahold of her if she decided to book it anyway. "Ugh, Raihan..." He groaned to himself at remembering him, putting his hands to his face. "What am I even going to say to him...?"

Gloria glanced up at him and shrugged. "I dunno, but he'll take whatever you do say. He cares a lot, and he just wants you to be okay after all this..." 

He nodded along and watched as the girl put her bag on, and they headed for the door. Even now, it seemed as though she didn't go anywhere without it. "I know. I care about him, too, and that's why his betrayal hurts so much. I understand why he did it, but that doesn't make it any better." Leon explained, recalling his Charizard before finally leaving the room. All he wanted to do today was spend it all with Gloria, but the champion knew he'd have to face Raihan eventually. 

"I know... That was sort of my fault, I suppose. I'm smart enough to know I'm hard to say no to, and I may have used that to my advantage..." She admitted guiltily. Of course Gloria knew how perfect her puppy dog eyes were; she wasn't a total idiot. Whenever Raihan or Piers threatened to crack (mostly Rai), she'd give them the look. That always did the trick, and that's the only reason she was kept hidden for as long as she was. Gloria used that little technique once... maybe twice... but who's really counting? 

Humor danced in Leon's eyes as he glanced down at the girl walking by his side. "You really are hard to say no to! It's those eyes; they're dangerous!" Leon teased affectionately. Her brown eyes were so big and full of innocence; she still looked like someone who desperately needed protection. Perhaps nowadays she was, and that's why Raihan and Piers gave in to her demands; Leon would've cracked, too. But before, it was just a tactic to seem like less of a threat. Gloria was a scary girl back then. 

"They're a weapon of mass destruction!" She agreed jokingly with a small smile. She knew exactly what Leon was talking about when it came to her expressive eyes. Then she huffed almost like a child. "Piers is immune now, though, so you don't have to worry about him..." That man - he was always so hard to convince to begin with, and now her best tool was useless against him. Even so, he was great to Gloria, and she was thankful to have someone like that in her fucked up life. 

"They scare me; you get your way far too often." He confessed with a smile. "And what isn't Piers immune to? That man may look like a stiff breeze would blow him over, but he's probably the toughest of all of us mentally!" Leon laughed, thinking about the musician. 

It was true, Piers's mind was like cold, hard steel. He didn't take shit from anyone, and if he wasn't in the mood to duke something out in a pokemon battle, he wasn't afraid to throw a punch... even if that punch was ineffective due to how weak he was. Besides physically, though, Piers was clearly weak for Gloria. That girl was like his own daughter, so it made sense. 

Leon sighed, glancing away from Gloria briefly. "I can see why they both did what they did; I probably would've done the same, honestly. I'm sure I'll find a way to forgive Rai... eventually." Somehow, they made it outside, and Leon decided to just let Gloria lead the way. He was a hopeless champion, after all. 

"He did have a choice, though, despite my persuasive techniques, and you should be a little mad at him..." She responded quietly. "Just not for too long, though, okay? It throws off the balance of the universe or something."

Leon chuckled at her adorable comment. "You really think me being mad at Rai throws off the balance of the universe?" He laughed and found it funny, but he did think about it a little harder just to muse the idea. He supposed they've never really fought, and certainly not like this. It must've seemed strange to see them fighting, especially such an explosive fight that caused Leon to punch a hole into Raihan's wall. Thinking about the literal damage he did in Rai's home, he chuckled bitterly and nervously scratched at his chin. "I really do have to apologize for that hole..."

Gloria walked along the street with Leon in tow. She made sure to hold his hand tightly as she was worried he’d trail behind her and suddenly find himself lost… It’d happened before, so Leon was thankful for her aid. “I absolutely do…! It’s unnatural for you two to fight like this, and I feel like another apocalypse may be upon us if you guys don’t fix your issues.” She giggled. “I think he’s more worried about you than the hole you left in his living room.”

“You make it sound like we’re going to be the ones to destroy the world with our fighting!” Leon jested, elbowing Gloria’s side gently. “I really doubt it’ll come to that! I’m not even that mad at this point.” Leon looked off into the distance as his thoughts drifted to his best friend. “He'd better have one hell of an apology for me, though!” 

“You just might; this whole thing between you and him right now is bad juju,” She said, unironically using the word ‘juju’. Gloria wasn’t superstitious, but she could help it! It was not good for them! “I’m sure he will. Glad you’re not angry, though.”

“It’s hard to still be angry after spending the night with you. You’ve sapped all of it away just by being here beside me. I’m grateful for it - grateful for _you._ I hope that if something like this ever happens again, you’ll trust me to help you next time.” The girl listened with a soft smile on her face all the way up until the end, where she frowned lightly. Leon stared at her with genuine sadness in his eyes. He squeezed her hand in his as she tugged him in the correct direction. He’d be so hopelessly lost without her in more ways than one. Gloria has done so much for him, even if she didn’t realize it. 

Trust? She was incapable of it. It’d been years since everything happened, and she was still learning how to rely on other people more. Hell, she didn’t even trust Piers and Raihan with half of the thoughts that went through her mind on a daily basis. Gloria didn’t even trust _herself._ Putting her faith, her desires, her _life_ in the hands of something or someone just because she thought it was safe was a bad idea. It’s always safe until it’s not, and the rug is pulled out from under her. 

Trust was not something Gloria trusted. How ironic.

“Yeah, me too…b-but let’s not let it happen again so we don’t have to worry about it!” She laughed a bit. Gloria would get there at some point, but it would take quite a bit of time. She simply wasn’t ready. The girl wanted to trust Leon as he deserved that much, but it was going to be a slow process. 

Leon frowned at her words, but he didn’t ask further. Gloria clearly wasn’t ready to trust him yet if she wasn’t able to promise it easily, so he didn’t want to push her or make her uncomfortable. The champion desperately wanted the girl to trust him, but he knew that patience was key. Gloria had been hurt and thoroughly damaged; it was going to take time for her to be able to trust anyone, let alone Leon - the one person who should have been there when she needed him.

“Say, what kind of food do you like nowadays? You know me, I don’t care what I eat! But I thought I should at least make an effort to pick something you might like!” Leon decided to change the subject entirely in an attempt to avoid any topics that would only upset them or possibly cause a fight. He didn’t want to be fighting with any more of his friends at the moment.

It seemed to be the best choice, too, because Gloria looked grateful for the subject change and lack of questioning. She shrugged casually. “I dunno. Not the biggest fan of curry anymore… Raihan’s taught me about the magic of bacon… Uh, pasta’s really good; any kind, really. I don’t know how to answer this; I don’t pay attention to what I eat…!” She giggled, though that was a bit of a lie. She didn’t pay attention to what she ate because she barely ate, to begin with. 

“So you’re saying you also don’t really care where I take you?” Leon laughed as he smiled down at the girl, finding her adorable. 

She returned his smile without hesitation. “Sure, we can go wherever you want. I don’t mind.” Gloria replied with a hint of excitement. The girl didn’t mind where they went or what they did for their grand date as long as she got to spend it with Leon. Honestly, she was just glad to be going out for once; she hasn’t gone anywhere or done anything interesting in a long time. It was strange how Lee could pull such feelings out of her - in a good way, of course. 

“Wherever I want, huh? Now I’m going to have to think of somewhere really impressive!” Leon grinned, though he was groaning on the inside. Humming thoughtfully, he tried to think of places around Hammerlocke, but none came to mind. He had no idea what was nearby or what Gloria might like…but Raihan did. And the man owed his champion big time. Yes, the dragon tamer would tell him of some good spots to take this beautiful girl; Leon would make sure of it. “You were never as picky as Hop, that’s for sure.” The man shook his head at the thought of trying to get food for his fussy little brother. “Calls it having ‘refined taste’, _I_ call it being pompous - er, don’t tell him though!” Leon gibed, laughter alight in his eyes. 

At the mention of Hop, she felt just the slightest bit uncomfortable. Right, he was going to be coming up to Hammerlocke to see her later. Gloria still wasn’t sure how ready she was for that, but it was better to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Just gotta rip the bandaid off. “It’s more like he’s a child refusing to eat his veggies. That’s what his pickiness reminds me of,” she joked. 

Leon laughed wildly at Gloria’s words. “It’s true, he rarely eats his veggies half the time! That boy really is a child!” He was quite amused that Gloria agreed with him. As the girl tugged him down the street and towards a specific house, Leon realized it was Raihan’s. “Ah, here already?” He asked, sounding slightly disappointed.

Glancing up at Rai’s home, she nodded. “Yep. Now, do you think you can get to the front door on your own?” Gloria wondered teasingly.

Leon rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. I’m not _that_ bad,” He shot back before wrapping an arm around Gloria to pull her in close. 

Gloria giggled, hugging him tightly. “I beg to differ.”

“I hate that we have to part ways. I know I’ll see you soon, but I miss you already!” Leon wore a wide grin on his face as he spoke, squinting his eyes happily. 

She smiled up at him, finding his clinginess adorable. The man was like a little lillipup. “You’re so sweet, but you will see me in an hour, tops!”

Leon squeezed Gloria a bit tighter. “Can you really blame me, though?” He whispered in her ear. The man was nervous to see her go, but she insisted that everything would be okay. Even if Gloria couldn’t trust _him_ , Leon would trust her. 

“No, I suppose not…” She replied softly, letting him wrap her in his warm embrace. Being in his arms was such a comforting feeling; one that she couldn’t get enough of. It sucked having to go back home just to get ready, but she’d be back as quickly as possible. 

With a sigh, he pulled back from their hug and reached up to hold the side of Gloria’s face lovingly. “I can’t wait for our date, though. I’m sure we’re going to have a wonderful time no matter what we end up doing.”

“I’m very excited and I can’t wait either…!” It was the truth. And the faster she got home, the faster she could return to him and get to their day together. Gloria wished she could get rid of Lee’s fears of her running away again, but there was nothing she could say to help. She’d just have to show him instead. 

Leaning in, he kissed the girl gently just long enough to make her crave more before leaning away. “I suppose it’s time to face Raihan, however, and for you to go get ready. I’ll see you in an hour, Glory,” He traced the side of her face with his hand one last time before stepping away entirely. 

“I’ll see you soon, Lee! I will look much more presentable, too!” She giggled, watched as he walked toward Raihan’s house. Once he was far enough, she started making her way down the sidewalk. “Good luck with Rai!” She exclaimed. Not wanting to seem too eager, Gloria waited until she was out of sight to start sprinting home. 

Not wanting to just walk in after a fight like that, Leon knocked and waited for Raihan to let him in. He watched Gloria walk away as he waited, catching her in a sprint just as she vanished around a corner. The champion bit his lip nervously as he hoped she was running out of excitement rather than fear. His heart hurt at the thought of her trying to get away from him, and he clutched his chest instinctively.

The door suddenly opened, and there Raihan stood holding something out to his friend. “I am very sorry.” Raihan apologized sincerely, and in his hands was a gallon tub of chocolate ice cream. Yes, he went out and bought it the moment Gloria left last night. Yes, he also bought sprinkles and chocolate syrup just in case Leon wanted either of those, too.

“Later, we need to talk.” It was a nice sentiment, and Leon would surely be back for the sweets, but he had more important things to attend to. Gently pushing the ice cream back Raihan, Leon brushed past the man and made his way to the couch. “I’m still mad at you, but I also need your help. So I’m willing to hear out your apology.”

Raihan sighed and went to put the ice cream back in the freezer so it wouldn’t melt. He figured it would’ve been too easy winning Leon over with sweets, but it was worth a shot. He then crashed onto the catch beside his friend, keeping a respectful distance. Rai wasn’t sure what he needed help with, but he wouldn’t ask or show any concern until after Leon accepted his apology. “I know you’re right pissed, and I absolutely deserve that. You have no idea how many times I wanted to tell you where she was; I nearly did on multiple occasions. But I didn’t want Gloria to feel like she was being backed into a corner, or she might’ve run again.” He felt awful, and despite how strong Raihan was as a person, he really didn’t know what to do or how to fix this with Leon. “I don’t know if that justifies it, and I’m not trying to. I just- I’m sorry. I am _so_ sorry, Lee. And if there’s anything I can do to help you forgive me, I’ll do it.” Leon was his best friend, and the dragon tamer watched him go through so much shit emotionally and mentally since Gloria disappeared. That was all on Rai, and he’d have to figure out how to make it better. 

Leon sighed deeply as he listened to the man’s apology. “I…spent the night with her. Nothing happened; we just slept. But after spending some time with her again, I think… I can understand why you hid her for so long. I’m still not sure if I’m ready to forgive you quite yet, but I do accept your apology. I’m still hurt. That’s not just going to go away overnight, even if being with Glory made me feel better. But thank you for apologizing.” Leon kept his eyes down on the floor as he was unable to meet Raihan’s eyes. He truly hated fighting with his best friend, but it was still a little hard to trust him. 

Raihan listened carefully, nodding along so Lee knew he was paying attention. He wasn’t expecting forgiveness, but he was glad the champion was at least willing to hear him out. “Yeah, I absolutely understand. I can’t say I blame you…” He muttered.

Now Leon just had to segue into talking about his date. It was hard when the feeling in the room was just awkward. He glanced around the room before his eyes landed on the damage he did. Oh, right. Leon should probably apologize for that, huh? “...Sorry about your wall, by the way. I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that…”

The dragon tamer glanced over to the hole in his living room wall and shrugged. “It’s alright, no big deal. Better than my face, y’know?”

After taking a deep breath and sighing, Leon continued, “So, I’m taking Glory out on a date today. I don’t really know anywhere that good in Hammerlocke. I need your help planning out a nice day for her. Glory deserves to have a good time.” Leon finally looked up at Raihan, his eyes sad and pleading.

“Uh, well…” Damn, he didn’t expect Leon and Gloria to hook up so quickly, if at all. With the way the girl had been, the dragon tamer never imagined that she’d be so open to going out for fun. It’d been a long time since she’d done that - he would know. Rai was proud of her in that moment. Still, he didn’t actually have much experience taking people out on romantic dates. He usually just fucked them…a lot. And then he’d feed them because he was a gentleman. Piers was an exception, of course, because he was super cute and Rai might’ve had a little crush. Even so, they weren’t _actually_ a thing. The man thought quietly to himself before perking up. “Oh, there’s this bakery not too far from here. I’ve been getting her cake pops from there for a while now; she has a thing for them, apparently, so I’m sure she’d like that. There’s also a really nice park somewhere around that area, too.”

Leon nodded in understanding. He thought it was cute how Gloria liked something small and sweet like cake pops. He couldn’t imagine a more fitting dessert to compare her to. “That sounds lovely. Can you uh, put the route into my phone so I don’t get lost taking her there?” The champion nervously scratched the back of his head. “I know how I am, and I don’t want to spend the whole day wandering around lost in Hammerlocke. Though, that could be an entertaining idea for another time,” Leon laughed. 

Raihan chuckled and took the man’s phone. “Of course, wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of the lady, now, would you?” He teased while setting up the route on Leon’s device. Handing it back over, he smiled. “There, now you won’t look like a fool on your way there. No need to thank me!” 

The champion was happy they could sit here and chat like this. He rolled his eyes playfully. “I do appreciate it, even if you are an arse about it.” Leon tucked his phone away. “Glory said she’d come pick me up here as she doesn’t trust me to find my way to her. Don’t blame her, she’s absolutely right! We’d likely never have a date if I had to go get her!”

“Smart woman, isn’t she?” Raihan teased with a grin.

The champion nodded, adorning a smile of his own. “Truly. But I should get ready. I left all of my stuff here when I left last night. Hope you don’t mind if I steal your bathroom for a bit!” Leon nudged his friend with his elbow, hoping Raihan was still okay with the man basically using Rai’s home as his own. 

“Yes, I do mind! How dare you assume, go get your own bathroom!” He exclaimed with a laugh, though he waved Leon off to let him get changed. “Go on, o’ mighty champion. Get all pretty-fied for Glo.”

“Listen, she deserves better than the clothes I wore _and_ slept in yesterday! This is Glory we’re talking about!” Leon shoved at his friend playfully before getting up and making his way towards the room he threw all his stuff in. Raihan followed behind as the champion got ready. “She’s brilliant, Rai; absolutely perfect. She deserves the world…” Leon gushed as he stood in the doorway for a moment. 

Raihan followed him all the way to the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe. “...She’s lost that spark, you know? Doesn’t battle, doesn’t go out. All that confidence she used to have is just- poof. Gone.” He sighed deeply, thinking about how Gloria was now. The poor thing. “I hope you can bring it back, though, because you’re right. Gloria truly does deserve everything.”

Leon nodded. “She mentioned it last night, and I could see it in the way she held herself. She seems so…scared of it - of just _everything_. I certainly don’t blame her; she’s still holding all of that guilt with her. I think she has this twisted view of what a champion should be, and she feels as though she didn’t uphold that or something. Just talking to her showed me that Glory doesn’t feel deserving of anything.”

“Pretty much, yeah. It’s sad to watch…” Raihan sighed. He knew firsthand just how bad Gloria had gotten over the years. It was a lot worse than just feeling unworthy, too. “As a champion, though, you are scary kinds of perfect. It’s hard to follow an act like yours when she was already fighting against the media half the time.”

Leon dug through his bag in search of a new outfit as he spoke. “Well, I don’t know how, but I’m going to convince her that she’s wrong. I’ll find the old Glory hiding behind all of her walls even if I have to tear them down brick by brick.” He eventually picked out something nice but casual enough that he wouldn’t get recognized. Leon wanted this date to be perfect for him and Gloria, which meant he couldn’t have any fans bothering him today. 

Raihan listened intently, though he knew Leon’s wish was much easier said than done. He could help a little bit, at least. Tilting his head thoughtfully, he spoke up. “You should ask her to battle you. Let her have a taste of it, and she’ll probably want more. See what she’s missing and all that, I dunno. I just want to see her get better.”

“Hop is coming today, and I’m sure he’ll challenge her. I figured I’d leave that to him, but we’ll have to see. I just don’t want to overwhelm the poor girl. A lot has happened, and it hasn’t even been a full day yet. I couldn’t bear it if she ran off again. Hell, I’m terrified she won’t even come back for our date, Rai…” Leon admitted quietly, glancing at his friend after he collected his clothes. Then shameless as ever, Leon turned the shower on and began stripping right there with the door wide open. He didn’t care; it’s nothing Raihan hasn’t seen before. 

The man moved over to sit on top of the toilet, completely unfazed by the naked champion in his bathroom. “I definitely get that, but I really don’t think she’ll take off again. Mostly because she can’t really pull the same disappearing act twice without some help, so I wouldn’t worry too much. But if she does text me, I’ll let you know this time.” That was an honest promise. No more lying to Leon; Raihan had learned his lesson. 

Leon sighed with relief. “Thank you, I appreciate knowing that. I just hope I’m not making her uncomfortable or moving too fast. I doubt she’d be going along with it so willingly if she wasn’t, but, what if I’m just seeing things through rose-tinted lenses? I don’t know… Ugh, I’m worried about so many things.” Leon stepped into the shower, continuing the conversation as he washed. He was relieved that he and Raihan fell back into their friendship almost immediately. Maybe Gloria was right; perhaps not getting along with the dragon tamer was catastrophic for them all. 

“I mean, the girl’s natural state is uncomfortably anxious, so I dunno. You could do absolutely nothing, and you’d still catch her messing with her sleeves or something. That’s just how she is now.” Rai leaned back and sighed. “But even if most of who she used to be is gone, I’m sure she’d let you know if you were making her uncomfortable.”

The champion poked his head around the shower curtain with confusion etched into his face. “What do you mean by ‘gone’?” Raihan made Gloria sound so broken, but she hadn’t seemed as different as the man was describing. Sure, she was quiet and a little nervous, but was she really so destroyed?

Raihan opened his mouth to speak before shutting it and nervously glancing away. “I mean, she’s not as bad as she used to be. She’s doing better- well, not exactly, but- um. She used to really be uh-... hm.” He wasn’t quite sure how to describe just how bad the girl’s depression had been. Gloria didn’t dare step foot outside of her apartment for such a long time. Sometimes, he’d catch her just staring off into space or oddly scratching at her legs until they turned red. It was a constant struggle just to get her to eat or sleep or take care of herself in general. Even though she stopped doing some of those things, Gloria was still passive, quiet, and very, very scared… Did Lee need to know all of that, though? “She just used to be in a pretty bad spot, is all.”

“How bad?” Leon asked, concern beginning to rise as he finished up his shower. “Nothing seemed too awful last night, but I suppose that could be explained by the fact that we haven’t seen each other in so long. What’s been going on, Rai? And you better not lie to me, either. I can’t help her if I don’t know what’s wrong.” The champion stepped out of the shower and began to dry off, fixing Raihan with a harsh look. He was not going to put up with any bullshit.

The gym leader scratched his neck anxiously as he wasn’t sure how much detail to give. “It got… _dark,_ for a while… Her first year was a disaster in general, but it got a little better with time and a lot of attention from me and Piers. She’s not okay, that’s for damn sure, but she stopped being so…self-destructive, I guess is the best way to describe it. She was just really fragile for a long time, and she still is. I honestly never imagined that Glo would even accept going on a date.”

“How _dark?_ You know beating around the bush isn’t helping anyone here.” Leon glared at his friend while getting dressed. “She’s been through hell, I know that much. But now I want to know what it did to her, so I don’t do anything that may upset her. I just want to help, and the more information I have, the better of a job I can do.” Leon finished putting on his clothes. ‘Casual’ did not mean what one would think it did. Dress pants, a nice shirt, and a leather jacket made up his outfit, and the man braided his long hair to complete his look.

“She…fuck...:” He was worried about telling Leon everything else. Raihan didn’t want the champion to blame himself for what happened to her mentally. Leon already had his own emotional issues because of Gloria’s disappearance, and Rai couldn’t bear to make it any worse for either of them. Still, Leon was right. “...Gloria admitted to wanting to kill herself once. It was only once, and we watched her like a hawk for a long time afterward so she never actually had the chance to do anything. I don’t think she did anything else, but I don’t know… Piers was hit the hardest with that, and he was there pretty much every day just to keep an eye on her. I was there whenever he couldn’t be.” Raihan shook his head, his mind going back to the memories of sitting outside the bathroom whenever Gloria went in just to make sure she didn’t lock the door and do anything stupid. It was a bad time for everyone involved. “That was almost a year after she disappeared. We’ve never talked about it since then, and Glo hasn’t ever brought it up. I dunno. I told you; _dark._ ”

It was like a punch to the gut, and Leon had to remember to breathe. Leon took a deep, wavering breath to try and calm down. “She wanted to…hurt herself?” His voice was small and pathetic, and he had to cling to the counter just to keep his balance. The champion continued to focus on his breathing, though it didn’t help much. How could he let that happen to her? He should’ve been there when Gloria needed him! “You weren’t kidding. That’s- yeah, that’s dark...” Leon muttered, still trying to wrap his brain around how her mind could get to that point. “Makes sense Piers would be there for her through that. Didn’t he…go through something like that at one point…?” The champion was never as close to Piers as Raihan was, but he’s heard a little bit about the musician’s life. It wasn’t something Piers liked to talk about, as far as Leon was aware. 

“...He did, yeah.” Was his only response; it was short and quiet. As someone who really cared about Piers more than he was ready to admit, Rai didn’t like thinking about the idea of his not-boyfriend hurting himself. 

Leon was still leaning over the bathroom sink. The fact that Gloria, his precious Glory, wanted to just stop existing… It broke his heart. He was glad Piers and Rai had been there for her, at least. “Thank you for telling me…and for taking care of her…” Leon ran a hand down his face, turning the water from the faucet and splashing his face with it. He needed to pull his thoughts away from the dark path they were heading down. He pulled out his toothbrush and began to brush his teeth. The champion didn’t want to kiss his Glory with his nasty breath. Surely, there would be more kissing, after all.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Lee… None of us could’ve seen that coming. I’m just glad she decided to say something; don’t wanna think about what could’ve happened if she stayed silent…” Raihan sighed and rubbed his face like he was trying to get rid of the stress. “This is a big step for her, though. I think it’s a really good sign. You bring out the best in her.” 

Leon nodded, finishing up with his teeth. “I don’t want to think about what would have happened, either. She’s here with us today, and that’s what’s important. I’m glad she agreed to do this with me, and that’s exactly why I need to make this date an amazing one. It’s such a big step, and if something were to go wrong, she might want to hide again. She won’t want to be with me…” The man sighed, doing the final things necessary for his date. 

“Yeah, I think she’ll have fun, though. It’s been a while since she’s gone out just for fun, so I’m sure she’ll have a great time. Trust me, she doesn’t need anything extravagant to be happy.” Rai commented with a smile.

“Just because she doesn’t need it doesn’t mean I won’t try to give her the world! I’m going to treat her to an absolute champion time!” Leon beamed, leaving the bathroom once he was finished getting ready. He sunk into Raihan’s couch, and the dragon tamer followed him back into the living room. That’s when Leon’s phone went off, and he grabbed it to check. 

**< 3<3 Glory <3<3**

_Omw, did you find Rai’s front door alright?_

_Yes I made it just fine!_

_I’m pretty much ready to go_

_Okay, I’m coming over! :D_

_See you soon!_

He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he stared at his phone. The Butterfree filling his stomach was the greatest feeling in the world, and he made sure to look himself over in the mirror one last time. She was coming! She was really on her way and not running away like he feared!

Raihan cocked a brow when he caught the way Leon’s mood shifted suddenly. “My gosh, I wonder who texted you!” He gasped dramatically. Rai was glad, too, though. Gloria was going to have a great time; he just knew it. And seeing Lee so happy made him excited to see where their relationship would go in the future.

“Shove off,” Leon replied, kicking Rai lightly. He was on cloud nine, and no amount of sarcasm and teasing from Raihan would bring him down. Finally! After all these years of pining after the beautiful girl, Leon was finally getting to take Gloria out on a date. He’s been wanting to since even before she became champion! Leon was so glad he’d been patient as it was paying off.

Raihan chuckled and laid on the couch, kicking his feet up onto Lee’s lap. The champion didn’t even flinch and let Rai do as he pleased. This was very familiar and comfortable for both of them. “You are such a nutter I dunno how she puts up with you!” He continued teasing, but there was a genuine smile on his face as he leaned his head back on the armrest. “But I’m glad you’re happy, mate. And I’m sure she is, too.” 

The smile on Leon’s face felt like it would be there permanently. “Yeah… I hope so!”

~~~

Gloria hauled _ass_ back home; sprinting up to her apartment and only taking a breather once she was in her living room. While she could’ve taken the elevator to her flat, the girl was feeling restless, and her legs were built for running, anyway. The girl swiftly made her way to her room and began going through her closet. Sifting through the clothing, she picked out a couple of outfits that she liked and laid them out on the bed. One was a loose, light purple dress with a skirt that only came down to her knees, and the other was a comfy, dark green sweater with denim shorts. At least she had some decent date clothes, but now she had a decision to make. Gloria’s first instinct was to take a picture of both and send them to Marnie.

**Mar-acas**

2 files attached

_Help_

_Can’t pick one_

_What is this for?_

While waiting for a reply, Gloria had already begun to brush her teeth. So when Marnie texted her back, she thought for a moment before holding the toothbrush in her mouth and responding. Oh boy, how did she even explain what happened last night?

_Soooo Lee and I are going on a date_

_Long story, but he’s sweet and I’m making an effort and taking it slow_

_So we’re going out today!_

_I’m only freaking out a little bit and I also don’t know what to where_

_Wat do_

_Halpp plz_

_That didn’t take long_

_Go with the purple one since that’s his favorite color_

_I assume by ‘taking it slow’ you mean you DIDN’T jump his bones last night lol_

Gloria nearly spat out all of the toothpaste onto her phone when reading the texts from Marnie. What the hell did she mean by that? ‘That didn’t take long’? Apparently, Marnie was having a great time teasing her. The girl’s face was bright red, and the girl was very grateful to be alone so no one could see her embarrassment. It only got worse, too. Of _course_ she didn’t ‘jump his bones’! Gloria had never been the kind of person to have sex with anyone without being in a relationship with them! She’d had a few close calls with Raihan in the past few years…and there was that one night stand she had once… Anyway-

_You’re the worst, y'know that??_

_I have not and will not be jumping anyone’s bones!_

_Ya sure?_

_You were pretty close to jumping his bones before you jumped off the face of the earth instead_

_SJFHKALJSDFH THIS IS UNTRUE YOU HAVE NO PROOF_

It was extremely true, and they both knew it. Gloria was shy, but she’d told Marnie about her crush on the handsome champion, as well as Piers. Hell, she couldn’t stop talking about Leon half the time; she’s had a serious crush since she was younger, and it’d never gone away. Gloria was an anxious mess as she spat into the sink and wiped her face. Then Gloria turned the shower water on and waited for it to heat up.

As if to rub it in her face, Marnie sent a screenshot of one of their previous conversations. In the picture, Gloria very obviously stated that Leon was hot. She wasn’t wrong, of course, but having it thrown in her face only embarrassed her more. Marnie was clearly having a great time teasing her. The girl cared, and Gloria could see that, but she was still turning into a disaster; turning redder by the second.

1 file attached

_I have more screenshots, too, if you need a reminder of how often you talked about him_

_So yeah, I have all kinds of proof and you’re obviously full of shit_

_I WILL SIC YOUR BROTHER ON YOU WOMAN_

_I can take him. He doesn’t scare me._

Gloria could admit that it was a weak threat considering those two got on like a house on fire. Even so, the poor girl was about to go mental, so she did end up texting Piers just before stripping and hopping into the warm stream of water. 

**Father Figure**

_Piers, attack your sister for me please_

_Don’t ask why_

_Thanks luv ya <3 _

_Enjoy your date but don’t get too frisky, yeah?_

_And if does get to that point, use protection_

_I don’t feel like being a grandfather yet_

Not aware of the traitorous texts she received from Piers, Gloria enjoyed the nice feeling of the warm water against her skin. It helped her relax and calm down a bit. If she was honest, Gloria wasn’t even sure if she was prepared for such a big step. So much was happening at once, and the girl was worried. A date sounded fun, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going through all of the worst possible scenarios in her head…

After stepping out of the shower, Gloria wrapped a towel around herself and checked her phone. FuckiNG PIERS-

_YOU’RE BOTH HORRIBLE PEOPLE AND I WILL NOT BE TELLING EITHER OF YOU HOW IT WENT_

_Good I don’t particularly want to hear how Leon is in bed_

She could not _believe_ that the two of them were ganging up to tease her - well she could, but that wasn’t the point. And of _course_ Piers had asked Marnie exactly what was going on even though Gloria said not to. This was extremely unfair, and she nearly threw her phone across the room out of pure shock and bashfulness. Alright, now she needed revenge or something because this was ridiculous. For a moment, she was about to just block him for the day, but then she had a different idea. Just tease him about his own crush!

_Someone sounds jealoussssss_

_Has Rai lost his touch?_

Ha, got 'em.

Now that _that_ was taken care of, Gloria started putting on her outfit. Her dark hair was a bit curly from being wet, and she kind of thought it looked cute. Brush some of it back, the girl pulled part of her hair into a little ponytail so it was half up, half down. Now she was definitely looking a lot better compared to this morning.

_Haven’t had time with him in months, and you’re gonna hit below the belt like that?_

_You’re crueler than Marnie_

Shit, maybe she went a little too hard. Clearly, Gloria’s comebacks were pretty rusty and needed some work. Despite wanting to get back at him for all of the teasing, the girl’s empathy immediately kicked in. 

_Aaaaa sorry bb are you okay_

_Yes I’m fine_

_Are YOU ok? You sure you wanna be going on a date with Leon right away like this?_

Gloria really doubted that he was actually fine, but it was best not to push it right now. If she did, Piers would just double down on worrying about her instead. Giving herself a once-over in the mirror, she glanced down at her phone and bit her lip. How did she even answer that? Her actions were coming out of left field and were very unlike her; Gloria knew that much. 

_I honestly have no idea_

_Just a lot of things are happening_

_We kissed last night, and I want to take it slow, but this obviously isn’t slow_

_What constitutes as slow, anyhow?_

_Idk I just don’t feel like sitting around and worrying about everything_

_I feel like I should actually go out and do something…while still worrying about everything_

_Kissing and dating sounds pretty slow to me_

_It’s not like you’re fucking_

_Better not be, at least_

_Live a little, Glo. I know this is outside of your safety bubble, but from an outside perspective, that sounds pretty normal, okay?_

Of course, she wouldn’t be Gloria without some last-minute panicking. She could be impulsive, of course, but not like this. Piers’s response did make her feel better, though. Right! This was totally sane and stepping outside of her comfort zone for once was good! This was a normal thing that normal people did. With a deep breath and that little vote of confidence from Piers, Gloria put her shoes on and set out. This was happening, oh fuck.

_Okay thanks for being my voice of reason because Arceus knows SOMEONE has to_

_Good luck, you can’t fuck it up_

_And yet I’m sure I’ll find a way_

_Doubt_

_You could punch him in the face and tell him you hate him, and he’d still take you out and tell you he had a great time_

_That man can’t be mad at anyone, he’s physically incapable of it_

_Hhhh okay if you say so_

_Hop is also supposed to come up today, so prepare to talk me out of hiding under a bed or something_

_Bet you’re so happy to be the dad of the group_

_Don’t worry about him too much, the kid has missed you_

_A lot_

_Another one that just wouldn’t shut up about you_

_Yes fine okay I will try not to freak out_

_Thanks dad!_

_I take offense to being the dad of this damn group I did not sign up for this_

_XDDD_

She really enjoyed teasing Piers. Gloria was so grateful to her father figure for helping her out and talking away her anxiety. Gloria didn’t feel nearly as worried as she did before about both Leon and Hop. She could only imagine how often the pair bothered the hell out of Piers. But hey! Maybe everything would be perfect! 

Walking down the street towards Raihan’s home, she started texting Leon next just to let him know she was on the way. He seemed really excited, and it made her happy. Gloria felt like a dumb teen swooning over the champion the way she did, but she couldn’t help it! At this point, she wasn’t too far away from Rai’s house, and the girl was tempted to run the rest of the way there. The only thing that stopped her was the idea that it might ruin her hair. Despite what Piers said about Leon being incapable of negative emotions, appearances still mattered on an important day like this.

After a few more minutes, there was an anxious knock at the door, and in walked a timid Gloria. Even after such a long time, she still felt weird about letting herself into Raihan’s home. “Uh, hello…!” She greeted with a nervous grin.

Leon scrambled to get off the couch, pushing Raihan’s legs off of his lap and quickly standing up. Upon seeing Gloria and how beautiful she looked, his jaw nearly hit the floor. She was stunning! More gorgeous than he’d ever remembered seeing her. 

Raihan, who was effectively tossed to the floor in Leon’s haste, glanced up from the ground and gave Gloria a solid nod. She definitely looked great, and seeing her all dressed up made him really proud. “Looking good, love. Leon, try to keep your eyes in your sockets, mate.” He smirked before getting up and brushing himself off. 

Leon completely ignored Raihan as he strode over to her; the girl’s presence taking up his entire focus. With hands to her waist, the champion stared at her, mesmerized. “Glory… you look beautiful!” 

Whatever semblance of confidence Gloria might’ve had when she walked in had completely disintegrated at that one compliment; now she was a pink, fumbling mess. Damn that Leon. How was she supposed to act calm and natural when he looked at her like that? And while _he_ may have been able to block Rai out, Gloria was painfully aware that the dragon trainer was still watching them with a big smirk. “I- uh, yeah! I mean, Marnie helped because I don’t go anywhere so I don’t wear nice clothes like this- not that I’m a complete bum! I mean, I am but- uh well this was cute, and I’ve heard you still like purple, so now I’m wearing purple and I am talking very fast, I’m sorry.” Gloria rambled, playing with one of the curls in her hair. What a mess, Gloria was already screwing this up.

Leon’s grin only widened, a soft look coming to his expression as she rambled adorably. “Oh, nonsense Glory. You talk as much as you want about whatever you wish. I’m just happy to hear the sound of your voice.” The man was vaguely aware he was giving Raihan a lot of teasing ammunition, but he couldn’t bring himself to care at that moment. Leon lifted one of his hands and rested his thumb against her lips while the rest of his palm held her face gently. “Yes, purple is still my favorite color. And you look amazing in it, as always.”

She was going to die at this rate. “I-I- yeah, I still like green and yellow and uh, I dunno. Colors are just nice in general.” _Gloria, stop talking about fucking colors, you disaster!_ “I’m glad you like my voice. Er, y’know… Anyway, you look very handsome, and the braid is cute...!” She complimented Leon’s hair as it looked very nice and definitely a lot more tamed. Gloria’s only seen it tied back on rare occasions, but he looked great either way. 

“Ah, thank you! I know I don’t have it like this often, but it helps to keep people from recognizing me!” He beamed at her, grateful for the compliment. “I’m glad you like it!”

Raihan rolled his eyes playfully and watched the mushy lovey-dovey interactions between the two of them. Someone needed to move this along because he knew these two sure as hell wouldn’t. “Arceus, just fuck already.” They made it too easy, and he couldn’t help himself.

Leon chose to ignore Raihan’s colorful comment as bringing attention to the man would only make it worse, but it brought a bright red blush to his face. “Uh, shall we get going?” He was eager to get away from Raihan if the dragon tamer was going to keep making comments like that. As much as he wanted that, he wasn’t expecting it anytime soon if at all. Gloria wasn’t ready, and Leon knew that. Without an answer, he already began tugging the girl towards the door, eager to get away from Rai’s dirty mouth. 

“Y-Yeah, let’s go…!” Gloria was already blushing before the comment, so one could imagine how she looked when Raihan decided to open his mouth. She let Leon drag her away, and she glared lightly at the gym leader before she disappeared through the door. What a big-mouthed brat.

Raihan caught it, though. It was just for a moment, but there was a little spark of the person she once was flickering behind her eyes. It made him genuinely smile despite being glared at with embarrassed anger. It was amazing to see her be brought back to life even if she was irritated with him. Leon truly was the best thing for Gloria. He’d better take care of her.


	8. Chapter 8

Much to Gloria’s surprise, Leon was the one to lead the way. Knowing his sense of direction, she expected to be stuck dragging the hopeless man around, but no! With their hands intertwined, he pulled out his phone to follow the directions Raihan left him. 

“There’s a bakery I want to take you to- oh, and we’re going the wrong way.” Leon immediately spun them around in a 180 turn and began to walk back the way they came, going the other direction this time. Yes, Leon was very thankful for Raihan’s help. This would’ve been a disaster otherwise. After a moment, the man let go of his rotom phone to hover between them so Gloria could see the GPS, too. “I uh, figured I should share this with you so we definitely don’t get lost…just in case.”

Gloria’s face lit up at the word ‘bakery’, and glancing at the map confirmed that they were going to her favorite one. “Okay!” There was a little bounce in her step as she giggled sweetly, swinging their arms between them. So that’s why he was so confident in taking the lead - he set his GPS. It was a little funny as he somehow _still_ got turned around even with the extra assistance. This wasn’t all that bad, though! This was great and normal just like Piers said it would be. 

Since the place wasn’t too far away, it wasn’t hard to find the bakery with Raihan’s directions on his phone…and a few extra nudges from Gloria. “Ah, I believe this is it!” Leon announced proudly as he pulled Gloria along with him into the bakery. “You can get whatever you’d like; I’m buying.” The man offered with a kind smile, his hand moving to rest on the small of her back as they entered. 

Gloria really liked sweets - that was probably one of the only things that hadn’t changed about her. She was anything but a snacker or binger; whenever things were going to shit or she felt horrible about everything, it was almost impossible to get her to eat anything. But Raihan figured out that a few sweets trumped her lack of self-care. If there was one thing she could count on not to ever hurt or betray or upset her in any way, it was cake pops. 

So she was ecstatic, to say the least. 

The whole feeling of excitement didn’t quite reach the rest of Gloria’s body, but it was clear she was happy from the way she looked around the room. The smell of fresh bread and pastries made her smile as she began looking through the different glass containers in search of something she’d want. Glancing up at Leon curiously, she asked, “Are you sure?” She felt bad about letting him pay for everything, but Gloria knew that was traditional dating etiquette. 

Leon only grinned back at her confidently. “Of course! I’m the cha- er, I’m not hard done by, by any means. And this is a date, so I’m treating you! You get whatever you want and as much as you want! I’m not too sure what’s what, but I’ll happily eat anything, so don’t worry so much.” Leon nearly blew his cover to the world, but laughed light-heartedly regardless, following Gloria around with his hand still affectionately on her back. He watched the muted excitement come from her with joy in his eyes. He was happy to see parts of his old friend once more even if she was slightly different. No matter what, she looked positively radiant, and the way her face lit up as she took in her surroundings made it impossible for Leon to take his eyes off her for even a moment. 

The girl giggled softly when the champion nearly blew his cover. Leon was so adamant about his disguise and not wanting to be bothered by fans, and yet he almost ruined it with his big mouth. She still felt vaguely bad about getting whatever she wanted, but the sweets called to her and Leon insisted that it was okay. So with hesitance, Gloria began picking whatever looked good. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, making sure to choose a variety of sweets, some not even cake pops. “Hmm… that one. Aaaaand that one? Oooh, and those, they look good. And-” This went on uninterrupted, and Leon watched with amusement. She lit up every time she saw something that interested her and picked it out. The champion thought his heart would burst from the overwhelming adorableness. She finally stopped after over a dozen sweets, and the girl was very pleased with herself. What a little disaster. 

Leon grinned brightly at her, though, and happily paid for the treats without batting an eye. “They all look delicious, Glory. I’m sure we’ll enjoy them all!” Leon helped take the order over to a table to eat. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never had a cake pop before. I’m curious to try one!” He laughed, grabbing on and looking it over as he took a seat. 

Gloria gasped as she sat across from him. A heathen, truly. How dare he not know the art of the popped cakes? “I cannot believe what I am hearing,” the girl giggled and propped her head upon her hands, watching the man with big, expectant eyes. “Go on, then!” 

Leon nodded before putting the entire cake pop in his mouth - literally the whole thing in one bite. Granted, it wasn’t like they were that big, but the man was just as bad at eating as he was at cooking. Food was not something the champion was good at. “Mmm, irsh derishish…!” He hummed through a full mouth. It was just a small cake ball on a stick - red velvet, he determined - but he really did like it. It tasted great, and the fact that they were sort of like lollipops was really cute. 

Gloria snorted at how horrible he was at just eating the treat before taking a bite out of her own. She nodded in agreement without speaking with her mouth full like a barbarian; they were indeed very good. If the girl had to choose between normal cake, cupcakes, or cake pops, she’d just the last every single time just because of how small they were. Gloria found it adorable how Lee just scarfed it down, though; A little messy, of course, but it was still kind of cute. The girl shook her head with a laugh before leaning over the table and wiping away some of the crumbs off Leon’s face. “You got more of it on your face than in your mouth…!” She teased. 

The man blushed slightly when Gloria leaned forward to wipe the mess off his face. “Ah! Yeah, happens every time, honestly,” Leon laughed, leaning into her touch instinctively. He grabbed another cake pop that looked good and began demolishing that, too. Really, it was like no one taught this man manners.

“Goodness, it’s like you were never taught how to consume food!” She giggled, nomming away at her own dessert. Gloria pulled her hand away from Leon’s face, and he used his free hand to take her own and hold it affectionately across the table. She blushed at the action but didn’t pull away, which the man was thankful for. He wanted to have some form of physical contact with her while they weren’t next to each other, and this was very nice. 

Leon could hardly take his eyes off Gloria; she was just so beautiful. He was so happy she’d agreed to this date. “Have you _seen_ Hop? I don’t think anyone taught either of us!” Leon teased, knowing full well that neither he nor his brother had the best table manners. When he finished wolfing down his share of cake pops, the man leaned forward and simply watched Gloria. He propped his head upon his hand as he looked her with love in his eyes.

The girl laughed at his comment, though she caught his staring every so often which made her blush. She wasn’t used to getting so much positive attention rather than someone watching her to make sure she was okay. It was a strange but welcomed change. “Your poor mother! The two of you are impossible.” Gloria was a lot calmer and took her time with her sweets compared to the champion. The two took their time and spent most of the morning just hanging out in the cozy bakery, falling into a very comfortable back and forth as they talked about random things that came to mind; work, family, their Pokémon, things like that. Gloria still couldn’t figure out what Leon saw in her, but she wouldn’t complain. He was perfect; someone she cared for and admired very much. He was on a whole other level compared to her. 

Once she finished off her desserts, Leon perked up and squeezed her hand softly. “Want to go to a park next? I have the directions and everything for that, too, so we won’t get lost!” He joked with a big grin.

“Yes, the park sounds lovely, actually. I’m glad you finally figured out how to use the GPS, you catastrophe.” Gloria teased lightly, gripping his hand back in response with her own sweet smile. 

Leon barked out a laugh. “Well, I didn’t actually set it up! It was Raihan, and I’m still as clueless as ever on how it works!” He admitted with a little embarrassed blushed as he scratched the back of his head. It only got darker when she smiled and cooed a little ‘aww’. She didn’t know Rai had set it up for him, but in hindsight, it made a lot more sense than Leon figuring out on his own. “I didn’t want to get lost on our first date and really wanted to impress you. You deserve the most perfect date that I could give you.” The man’s voice carried a soft tone, a thumb rubbing over Gloria’s hand. He was so gone for; Leon wanted to spend the whole day with her and make her happy. 

The two of them stood up and cleaned their mess together. “We could’ve sat in your hotel room and ordered room service, and I would’ve been just as satisfied. Spending time with you is all I want.” Gloria replied quietly, letting the champion take her by the hand and lead her to the door. As they exited the building, she continued, “...though, the cake pops definitely made it better.” In reality, she didn’t really believe what he said - it was hard for her to imagine herself being deserving of much; his sweet words pretty much went in one ear and out the other. Leon, though… He deserved the universe and more. 

The man took Gloria outside and let their connected hands swing between them as he pulled out his phone. Leon was glad to hear that cake pops made the experience much better; he’d have to thank Raihan for that suggestion. Then again, he was just glad that she was having a good time to begin with. Knowing he still had what it took to make Gloria smile made the champion’s heart warm. “I feel the same. It doesn’t matter what we do as long as I’m with you. I’m just so happy to have you back in my life again, and I’m grateful to spend all of today with you.” Leon led her down the road as he followed the directions to the park on his floating device, occasionally bumping against her with how close he kept her. He couldn’t help but squeeze her hand again and glance down at her with love in his eyes. That caused him to take a wrong turn, though, which his rotom phone helpfully warned him of right away. “Ah, sorry about that. Guess I’m still as awful as ever,” Leon laughed, pulling her the right way this time. 

His sweet words made her heart flutter when he said he felt the same as she really did enjoy just being in his presence. Leon made her feel so much better even though they had barely reunited last night. Gloria followed the champion around, taking in their surroundings with a small smile. Leon’s horrible sense of direction earned a sweet laugh from her, as well. “You have technology helping you as much as physically possible, and you still end up almost going in the wrong direction. How do you manage to ever do anything?”

“I’m honestly not sure myself, Glory. With a lot of help,” Leon mused with a grin, letting go of her hand and opting to slip his arm around her instead. He pulled the girl closer to him, glancing down at her once more. Gloria made him so happy, and she was such a calming presence in his life. While Leon’s head was often lost in the clouds, she was the person who could keep him grounded. He’d been such a mess without her, but now that she was back beside him, the champion didn’t feel nearly as lost as he once did. Well, metaphorically speaking, at least. 

Having an arm around her earned a blush from the small girl, as well as whenever she caught Leon staring at her, though she didn’t seem to mind one bit. Despite trying to hide from his affectionate gaze, Gloria reveled in the feeling of being wanted. She felt like she was walking on air the entire time. This was amazing and terrifying all at once, but every time she got scared, she’d remind herself that this was good - this was normal. It was okay to be a little nervous about something new. “Clearly!” She snorted at him before quickly going quiet.

Arriving at the park, Leon finally looked up from the beautiful woman under his arm. “Oh, wow! This is nice, and it’s practically empty, too,” The champion whistled, leading Gloria over to a bench to sit down. The girl looked around at the calming nature around them, enjoying the serene area with a soft smile. It was nice that there weren’t too many people walking around at the moment; it made Gloria a lot more comfortable being out in public. “Oh, and there’s even a pitch!” He pointed out excitedly, a wide grin covering his face. Only for a second did he forget that Gloria didn’t battle anymore, and he nearly led her over before remembering. Reluctantly, he just kept pulling her over to the bench instead. 

She looked over to the pitch in question with an almost…longing gaze as Leon led her away. Gloria missed battling, but it worried her much like everything else she once left behind. She probably wasn’t that good anymore, anyway. “Y-Yeah…!” She replied, sitting on the bench beside him with a little sigh. “The tournament’s coming up, right? You excited?” 

Gloria would never know it, but Leon’s ever-observant nature caught the flash of desperation in her eyes, and he contemplated asking about it. He was going to leave it to Hop because that’s what felt right to him, but could the champion really pass up this opportunity? Even Raihan had encouraged him to try and battle with her today. Leon should at least try, right? “Of course! I’ve only spent the last few months planning it!” He joked with a sweet laugh. “I plan to win it, obviously. It isn’t like anyone has had much luck beating me”

“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see. Rai’s been training rigorously this year, so you’d best be on your game.” She teased, bumping his elbow playfully. 

Leon chuckled. “Raihan trains rigorously _every_ year! I do hope he beats me, though. I’d like for someone to really try and knock me off my throne already!” After a moment, Leon finally asked the question to her just to see how she’d react. “… Would you like to help me get a little practice in?” He raised his eyebrows at her as he leaned forward to look into Gloria’s eyes. He took both her hands in his own and gave the girl his best puppy dog eyes. They weren’t as effective as Gloria’s, but they were still a very dangerous weapon - one he didn’t mind abusing every once in a while.

It took a moment for the question to process in her mind, and she could’ve sworn she’d misheard Leon for a second. When she finally realized just what he was asking of her, she went quiet, unsure of how to respond. Gloria _did_ want to battle, just a little bit. Her gaze went from Leon to the pitch across from them hesitantly. “I-I’ve only got Cinderace on me, though… Is that alright…?” She wondered quietly. It was soft and reluctant - almost a whisper - but at least she hadn’t outright said no.

Leon kept his eyes on her as he spoke carefully watching her reaction. This was going a lot better than he expected so far. “How about a one on one, then? Charizard versus Cinderace; I think that sounds pretty fair, no?” He leaned in a little closer to her, excited at the prospect of battling Gloria once more. Her timid reaction saddened him despite how close she was to accepting his offer. But Leon missed what the girl once was. Part of him just wished Gloria would trash talk him like she once would’ve; ‘Come at me, then! All I need is Cinderace to take your whole team!’ It was sad to know that part of her was gone with the wind, but the champion was just grateful for her consideration. 

Gloria sputtered with anxiety in her veins as she didn’t expect him to make a compromise. Part of her just wanted to say no and shut the whole idea down out of fear. Fear of what, she wasn’t sure. But the part of her that wanted to say yes was practically singing with joy. Before she even had a chance to respond, the Pokeball she carried around excitedly popped open on its own, releasing a very energetic Cinderace. The gleeful rabbit sprinted around them before stopping on the pitch with a fist in his palm like he was ready to square up; at least _someone_ hadn’t changed. 

Leon got up with a laugh, watching the energetic Pokémon run about. “Really, Cinderace?” He asked jokingly with a cock of his brow. The rabbit only squeaked in response and started hopping from one foot to the next. Cinderace was clearly feeling very impatient. It’d been a long time since he’d wiped the floor with anyone, so of course he’d want to get going immediately. 

Gloria’s Pokémon’s intense drive and determination caught her attention. How could she deny her partner this fun opportunity? With a soft, nervous grin, Gloria finally answered Leon’s question. “I-I… Yeah, I’d like that…!” She was still anxious but also hopeful. Maybe it would be a lot of fun!

“I’m so glad to hear you say that!” He boomed, pulling Gloria up with him, a huge grin adorning his face when she said yes. Leon swept the girl off her feet and spun her around briefly with a laugh. He was smiling so wide that it forced his eyes shut; the champion was just so happy that he couldn’t help himself! 

Gloria squealed and giggled in surprise as she was picked up off the ground and the world spun around her. She was glad to see the man so happy; Leon’s big smile was adorable and one she’d missed very much. The girl stared into his honey eyes with such affection in her expression, memorizing every detail of Leon’s sweet face. 

Meanwhile, Cinderace was huffing impatiently from his spot on the pitch, hopping with irritation. Yeah yeah, they were all lovey-dovey, and it was nice seeing his trainer happy for once, but _let’s get a move on already!!_

Leon chuckled and put Gloria back down, leading her over to the pitch. “Well, we shouldn’t keep him waiting! He might cause trouble if we do!” The man teased her Pokémon, keeping an arm around Glory as they walked. 

“Indeed, he will set the park ablaze!” She replied, mostly joking. Cinderace would never do that… Well...

Once they were close enough to the pitch, Leon fished out Charizard’s ball and released the large dragon. “Are you ready, my friend?” He asked, and his partner roared in response. Leon grinned, as did Gloria as she waved to Charizard sweetly. Cinderace was happy to see his opponent, as well; though, that was more because he was ready to throw down with him. 

Leon leaned into Gloria, kissing her hastily on the lips and running away to the other side of the battling area. The girl blinked in surprise, barely having time to process what was happening before he was long gone. It turned her into a blushing mess, and she nearly forgot why they were there to begin with. Curse that man and his attractiveness; it wasn’t fair. “We’re ready when you are!” He beamed. 

With a playful glare towards her date, Gloria made her way to her own end of the pitch and stretched her arms a bit. It’s certainly been a while since she’d had to think so strategically, but she hoped some of it would come back to her naturally. Cinderace was far more confident than she was, which was probably a good thing. If Gloria fucked up and made a mistake, at least her Pokémon was smart enough to get himself out of a sticky situation. “Ready, you little firestarter?” She asked with a giggle, and her partner bounced anxiously with a nod and a squeak. That was an astounding hell yes. “Okay, then!” 

She glanced at Leon across the pitch, and he looked loving but also determined. Gloria knew he wasn’t going to go easy on her just because they were on a date and this was her first battle in years. That’s okay, though; she wouldn’t want him to hold back for her sake.

After a moment of silence, they both called out their attacks at the same time, and the battle began. 

Gloria was timid, and her body felt stiff for a while as the fight first started. Despite her anxiety, the energy radiating from the battle in front of her made her grin. The flames roared viciously, and she was enthralled by the warmth that licked at her cheeks. She adored every moment of it, and it was like the rest of the world had disappeared. Nothing mattered more than this one fight, and she didn’t hold anything back. This was it. This was exactly what she’d been missing. She craved more, though, after having a small taste of Pokémon battling. 

Even though Gloria and Cinderace were giving it their all and having a great time in the process, so were Leon and his own partner. The champion didn’t go easy on her by any means; he took every single battle seriously, and he never gave his opponents a victory they didn’t deserve. His adorable date was clearly doing her best, but she was severely out of practice, and it showed. Though he certainly didn’t stomp her and Cinderace into dust, Leon and his partner did win by a fairly large margin. Charizard was ready to go a few more rounds when the rabbit finally collapsed on the ground. 

“That was a fantastic match, thank you! It’s always a treat to battle you!” Leon praised the girl for her great effort. He was genuinely proud of her for going as hard as she did. Then the champion gave Charizard celebratory pets for his win. “Excellent work, my friend! I suppose that’s vengeance for the little bugger taking you out in that match our little Glory stole our title from!”

“Oh, shush. We’re just out of practice is all...” She huffed quietly, kneeling beside her Pokémon on the field. She murmured a kind thank you as Leon came over and offered a potion to Gloria. “We had fun, though, right buddy?” The girl knew very well that they didn’t even come close to defeating Charizard, but they at least tired him out somewhat. That was enough of an accomplishment for her. Her Cinderace, on the other hand, was itching for a rematch; as if to say, _‘we’ll take your stupid title again, too! Just watch!’_ But even if his wounds were beginning to heal rapidly from the potion, it wouldn’t help with his fatigue. Her Pokémon would just have to wait for that rematch until he wasn’t so tired anymore. “Relax buddy, stop fidgeting…” She murmured while she spritzed Cinderace with the potion. He never liked the weird tingly feeling potions gave him. “You put up a good fight, and we’ll get ‘em next time, okay?” Her words even seemed to shock herself. She had just pretty much assured everyone that there would, in fact, be a next time. But it felt…right.

Leon positively beamed at Gloria’s words. “Next time, eh? You planning on joining the tournament perhaps? Coming after my title?” He barked out a laugh to let her know he was only teasing her. 

To his surprise, Gloria shrugged and gave him a genuine answer. “Maybe I will. Not to take your title, but to see where I am skill-wise. It’s been a long time, and we’re pretty rusty. It’d be good to see where we’re at…!” She scratched the top of Cinderace’s head while he healed before standing back up. Her Pokémon really perked up at that. They were going to do the tournament again? Hell yes! “Don’t get _too_ excited, silly. I said _maybe,_ ” she teased.

Leon smiled kindly at her as he wrapped an arm back around her waist. He really couldn’t go very long without touching her in some way. “Well, I look forward to it, wherever and however our next fight takes place! Maybe once you’ve got your whole team against me, you’ll stand a real chance!” The champion squeezed Gloria to his side briefly with a grin. He was so glad they were able to battle, and that the sweet girl enjoyed it enough to want another go. Leon couldn’t wait; he hoped she’d keep battling right up to steal her title back. She deserved it. “Thank you for such an invigorating battle! Charizard and I weren’t expecting the two of you to put up such a fight!” Leon looked down into Gloria’s eyes, his other hand coming up to run through her short hair. 

She leaned against the champion with a smile and soft blush. Gloria wasn’t against being so close to Leon; his warmth was comforting. Glancing up at him, she beamed. “We weren’t expecting it, either! It was a lot of fun, though!” 

“I’m sure with enough practice, you’ll be stealing my title back from me in no time!” Leon promised, leaning in and kissing Gloria’s cheek. He pulled her in closer to him, wrapping her in a hug. “I’m glad you’re considering the tournament, and I’m even more glad that you had fun today! That’s the most important part, after all.” The champion leaned down and rested his forehead against her own, enjoying the closeness of the moment and the glow winning with this beautiful girl of his dreams safe in his arms. Everything was just so perfect in Leon’s world. “I’m relieved to know you don’t hate battling.”

Gloria returned the embrace happily, letting Leon hold her close. Was she gunning for his crown for the second time? No, surely not. That wasn’t the smartest idea in her mind, and she probably wouldn’t get that far anyway. If the other gym leaders didn’t go easy on her, she might get taken out by Nessa or Kabu. The first couple of gym leaders always took it easy on newcomers, but they didn’t have to for their former champion. If Gloria actually went through with this, she didn’t want anyone holding back for her sake. 

“Of course I don’t hate it, I could never!” She gasped. Battling was something she would always love more than anything; she just…hadn’t had the motivation to be better after everything that happened… “Thank you for this, though… I think I really needed it.”

“Good, I truly hope you’ll join the tournament, then. It’ll be good practice for you. May even restore some of that old confidence,” Leon sighed as he brushed a hand along her jaw, cupping her face with it. 

He so desperately hoped she’d take part in the gym challenge and take his title. Then again, he wanted someone - _anyone_ \- to finally take over as champion so he could focus on his chairman duties. The man enjoyed both, but being chairman was what he loved more. Being able to change the league for the better and fix everything that Rose had left broken was so empowering, and Leon felt like he was genuinely making a difference. Now if only someone would beat him so he could focus solely on his chairman duties. It wasn’t like he could just _let_ somebody win against him, though; that would be such a betrayal to his Pokémon, as well as whoever he was up against. It’s why he was still the champion to begin with. No, someone had to beat him fair and square. Whether it be Gloria, Raihan, Hop, or someone else, Leon didn’t care. He was just waiting for the day that someone finally beat him.

Gloria was adamantly against becoming Galar’s champion again. Maybe she could one day, but at the moment, she simply didn’t feel ready. She may never be ready, too, and that thought hurt. But the girl was scared of fucking it up all over again, and she couldn’t handle going through something like that a second time. Her conscience was so torn; part of her missed her previous life and regretted ever giving it up in the first place. But another part of her wanted to push her back into the ‘life’ she’d made for herself these past few years out of necessity. Gloria still had time before the tournament started, so she’d just think about it for now.

The girl was pulled out of her thoughts as Leon led her back over to the bench. He sat down and pulled her into his lap, much to her surprise. With the height difference, this put their faces at the same level. Gloria was always aware of the size difference between them; she was a shorty, and that was just the truth. But now it was the only thing she could think about when their faces were so close together. 

“W-Well, maybe. We’ll see…!” She responded softly, blushing lightly as his hand grazed against her face some more. 

“Indeed we shall, Glory,” Leon purred, and he sealed their lips in a kiss. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in closer. The other continued to hold her head and cup her face. A thumb ran along her cheek as it traced the lines of her cheekbone. Leon’s lips moved slowly and gently against hers. The poor girl was short-circuiting as she leaned into Leon’s lips; she was enamored by him, and she could barely think straight while her skin tingled under the man’s touch. Whatever problems she was trying to work out in her mind before were nothing but white noise in the background. 

Leon held her just like that for a while, enjoying the feeling of her lips on his. They were soft and still tasted of the sweet cake pops she’d had earlier. The man could hardly believe his luck sometimes; he truly believed that the best treasure in all of the world was sitting right here in his lap. As he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, Leon tried to pull her impossibly closer with the arm around her waist. 

Gloria sighed in content as the faint taste of sweets played on both of their lips. There were no thoughts in her mind, only feelings - feelings that made her chest warm and fuzzy and happy with everything. She knew just how lucky she was to have someone like Leon adore her like this. To know that he felt so strongly about her made Gloria’s heart flutter, and she couldn’t get enough of it. 

Back near the pitch were their two partner Pokémon watching on curiously. Well, Cinderace gagged playfully like a child before using Charizard’s tail to cover his eyes like a brat. He was glad that Gloria was as happy as she was, though. Being cooped up in his Pokeball for as long as he had, the rabbit didn’t know half of what went on outside of it. But he knew his trainer was going through an extremely rough time, and Leon was helping her through it. That didn’t mean the kissing wasn’t gross, though. Charizard, meanwhile, watched on in amusement, just as happy for his own pining trainer to finally have his affections returned. Glancing down at Cinderace, Charizard huffed and let him hide behind his large tail. The rabbit was still young and had always acted as such. 

As Leon pulled away, he stared into Gloria’s warm eyes. “Thank you…for this. For coming back to me. For everything. I’m just so glad you’re mine…” The champion pressed his lips against her forehead before leaning his own against hers. Even closer now, he continued staring into her beautiful orbs again. “This is better than any dream I’ve ever had.” His voice was honey-smooth and quietly, intimately deep. Leon held Gloria close to him, swaying back and forth with her. 

She listened to his sweet words even if she wasn’t too sure why he’d say them. Maybe Gloria was someone worth dreaming of _before,_ but she felt like a broken version of herself now. She didn’t feel like anyone worth thanking. But she wouldn’t say that out loud - not when he was clearly so happy. His adorableness made her smile, and she leaned against him to take in his warmth. “I have no idea what I did to deserve such kindness, but thank you…” She murmured with a sigh. 

“Just by being you, Glory...” he mumbled with a grin, cupping her face in his hands and just holding her there. “You deserve so much kindness. You are thoughtful, sensitive, and so very brave. You’re amazing, Glory, and for that, you deserve all the kindness in the world. You shouldn’t doubt your champion, after all.”

The girl blushed brightly and glanced away with a huff. “You don’t get to play the champion card, that’s cheating…” Gloria couldn’t help but look back at him though, expression softening as she hummed in content. “You are just…so perfect.” 

Leon’s smile lost some of its brightness at her words. “So everyone says…” He muttered. This wasn’t the first time the champion had heard that phrase or been held to an impossibly high standard. He could understand why Gloria ran from being champion when there was such pressure constantly on him to be more than human - some perfect puppet for Galar’s entertainment. Leon couldn’t ever bring himself to actually ever leave his job willingly, though. He shook the thoughts from his head; she probably didn’t mean it like that - forget about it.

She wasn’t too sure what Leon meant by what he said. To hell with everyone else, Gloria simply meant the truth in its most positive meaning. “But you are! You’re charismatic, charming, and very good with people - better than I’ve ever been, at least. Intelligent and quick on your feet; very observant when you’re focused. The whole handsome thing helps, too.” She giggled lightly. 

Leon laughed, as well, and blush began to form on his cheeks from her compliments. He was so used to the superficial adulation from those trying to get on his good side, and to hear how genuinely Gloria felt about him… Well, he was red as a tomato. “Now who’s cheating? You’re just too beautiful and so good with words! This is hardly fair!” He joked with affection laced in his voice as he played with her hair. 

Gloria stuck her tongue out playfully like a child, but her face was still as red as Leon’s. “Says you!” She huffed lightly, leaning into the hand in her hair. 

Leon only laughed louder while he stood up suddenly with her held to his chest in his arms. “You’re right, I’ll take what advantage I’m given.” He winked at her with a chuckle. 

“You’re evil!” Gloria squealed as she was raised off the ground and clung to Leon, afraid she’d fall.

Quite pleased with himself for playfully tormenting the poor girl, Leon laughed as he walked aimlessly with her safely in his embrace. “Well, what would you like to do now, Glory?”

With a little hum, she shrugged and glanced up at him. “I dunno, anything!” Gloria was more than content with doing whatever Lee wanted. They could stand around in total silence for the next hour, and she would be completely satisfied. 

“Let’s go get lost and see where we end up, then!” The man decided with a laugh as he walked off into the park. It was a pastime of his not by choice, though he had found ways to enjoy it regardless. He often ended up spending time this way, so it would be nice to do it with someone else for once. He kept her in his arms though, just to annoy her. He didn’t deny being evil, after all. 

“Okay!” She laughed lightly. Gloria was never the type to get turned around or lost like Leon was, so this would be very interesting. Though, the girl quickly became embarrassed when she realized he was going to keep carrying her. She tried hiding her red face in Leon’s neck. “This is rude…” She whined. 

“But it’s so much more fun this way!” Leon exclaimed, squeezing her to himself affectionately. He looked down at her with a soft smile, the kind he only wore in private for those close to him - friends, family, and the gorgeous ex-champion in his arms. “And off we go!” Leon let his feet take them wherever they wanted, content to keep holding his Glory in his arms for as long as she’d let him. 

Gloria hummed softly as she rested her head on Leon’s shoulder as they went. She was so calm and content with being in his grasp. After the wonderful afternoon she’d had with the champion, she was happy to let him take her wherever the wind led them. Even now, resting calmly in his arms, Gloria still felt like she was dancing through a dream. How did she end up so lucky?

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she finally sighed sweetly and glanced up at her surroundings… Only to realize she had absolutely no idea where they were. “How the- Leon. I don’t even know what street this is, and I’ve lived in Hammerlocke for years! How? _How_ did you manage to get so lost?” She laughed, shaking her head exasperatedly. What a literal disaster! 

“It’s a gift!” Leon joked, laughing along with her. He hadn’t been watching where he was going at all, so focused on watching the girl in his arms. He had no idea where they’d ended up.

With a giggle, Gloria rolled her eyes at the man’s lighthearted response. She was about to put her head back down on Leon’s shoulder when a familiar face caught her eye. It’d been a long time since she’d seen the well-dressed man with spiky, silver hair, but she’d recognize him anywhere. He walked right past her and Leon, even making eye contact with her for a moment. It didn’t seem like he recognized Gloria, which she wasn’t too surprised by. With a confused tilt of her head, the girl’s mouth was faster than her brain as she called out to him. “Steven?”

It had been a long while since Steven Stone was last in Galar - he hadn’t been in the region since the World Championships a couple years earlier. After losing his title to Wallace _again,_ Steven thought it might be a good idea to get away for a time. A change of scenery and new opponents to train against might do him some good. Thus, his trip to Galar. He’d been spending some time simply sightseeing at first, and he just happened to currently be in Hammerlocke. 

The man was wandering around while marveling at the architecture when he noticed a young couple wandering about. The taller man held the girl in his arms lovingly, and Steven couldn’t help but watch on longingly. He wouldn’t deny it - he missed his old flame, Gloria. When she’d suddenly ended things between them without so much as an explanation and then fell off the face of the earth, Steven’s heart shattered. That girl was so funny and carefree - if not a little chaotic sometimes. He’d dated others, but no one compared to the beautiful ex-champion of Galar. Staring at the girl only served as a reminder of what he’d once had. It hurt to think about. She even looked so much like Lori, too, even if her hair and skin tone weren’t the same.

So when she stared back at him with a glint of familiarity in her big, beautiful eyes and spoke up in her adorably sweet voice, Steven did a double-take. With a confused furrow of his brow, he gazed at her more intently. The closer he looked, the more it seemed like Gloria. She’d changed - a _lot_ \- but that was still her, wasn’t it? It was. Taking a step closer, he tried not to get his hopes up too high just in case he was wrong. 

“Gloria?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Mighty decided this needed more drama, and that Gloria needed an ex, and the only guy we could decide on was Steven Stone. Why? Because all the Galarian men were taken. And another champion seemed WAY more entertaining for Leon to be jealous of. So Mighty 100% takes the blame for this stunt because he was playing Omega Ruby at the time and Steven Stone is hot???


End file.
